Two Birds with One Stone
by SiriuslyNeville
Summary: This is another Hermione Time Travel Fic. Rated the way it is, just to give me creative freedom. Hermione goes back in time to try and rewrite the wrongs that have been done and help save a lot of lives. I hope I can put a little bit of a twist on it. Thanks for reading!
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** Hi everyone! This is my very first Fanfic and I'm super excited about it. I have this posted on FanFiction and this is the first time I'm posting anything on here, so I hope you enjoy it! I've got quite a few chapters written and I'll upload a few and see how it's received. Thanks so much for stopping by and checking this out =]]

Also, any and all errors that you find are made responsible by yours truly! I like to write, but I'm a terrible editor. I'll try to go back at some point and fix them, but until then just use your imagination about what it SHOULD be! Thanks =]

Disclaimer- I wish I could say that owned anything that you are about to read, but- Alas, earwax. I mean, NO! I don't claim ownership of anything.

Chapter 1

The battle was lost. Her friends and loved ones were dying all around her. Voldemort had come out of the Forbidden Forest, announcing that Harry Potter was dead. Hagrid, sobbing, carried Harry's lifeless body up towards the castle. Neville had made a last ditch attempt to reach Voldemort's snake, Nagini, and had been struck down. When Neville had gone down, it seemed like the rest of the resistance and the Order had lost hope.

Hermione was battling with Ginny and Luna against Bellatrix when Mrs. Weasely ran over and yelled "NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH!" Hermione leapt back and watched as Mrs. Weasley and Bellatrix battled fiercely. She didn't want to see how it ended, and looked around the hall. Everyone was taking hits and being knocked down. She couldn't handle it. There had to be something that she could do in order to fix it. She ran out of the Great Hall towards the Entrance Hall, dodging cruses and streaks of light as she went. She crouched down behind a statue of an old witch with a lopsided grin and a pointed hat that was much too small. She heard someone calling her name and when she turned around she saw Ron running out of the Great Hall behind her. She turned just in time to see the wall next to Ron get blasted away.

"RON!" Hermione screamed, ran over to him, not paying enough attention to what was going on around her. She received a scrape across her upper arm, but hardly noticed because she was so fixated on reaching the red headed boy on the ground. Hermione moved a large piece of debris out of the way for her to reach Ron. She held on to the front of his shirt and she shook him and yelled his name, anything to know he was alive, but his body just stayed limp. She pressed her lips to his in an attempt to get him to open his eyes. Nothing happened. She couldn't leave him there; if he did wake up he wouldn't be safe. With her heart breaking inside of her chest, Hermione pulled Ron's body into a hidden corner off of the Entrance Hall where she hoped it would be safe. Hermione knelt down and gave him one last kiss, and then she stood up. They were losing and everything seemed hopeless.

She looked around and saw a bunch of witches in one of the portraits scurry away towards the entrance hall. Then it clicked. Dumbledore's portrait. He put a lot of these sodding plans into motion and they didn't work out the way he had hoped. She needed help and he was the only one who could help her.

She flew up the stairs and down the corridors until she reached the entrance to the Headmaster's office. The griffin guarding the Headmasters office had been knocked to the ground, looking a little starry eyed.

"I need…to talk to… Dumbledore…" she panted heavily and jumped over it and up the spiral stone staircase.

Hermione ran into the office and came to a sudden halt. She looked up and immediately made eye contact with Dumbledore's portrait. She walked up to the desk and just stood there. He seemed like he knew what she was going to say, but waited for her to be able to speak the words.

"Harry… didn't make it. We're losing. We… we couldn't get the snake and Harry is g-gone- we lost SO many people. What do I do?" Her voice was practically begging.

"I hoped it wouldn't come to this. I didn't even want to think about it happening and requiring an alternative plan. However, it seems like now might be the time…" He looked away wistfully.

"Anything! I'll do anything! We have to stop this. Voldemort _cannot_ win." Hermione said it with such determination that Dumbledore believed that in this moment, she would do whatever it was that he asked of her.

"First, I want to you take a look into the pensive. I believe that in order for you to be successful, it's important for you to have all the facts." Dumbledore portrait said, pointing to the cabinet that held the pensive.

Hermione walked over to the cabinet. She looked back at the man with the long white beard and the half-moon spectacles, and then looked down into the pensive. She was immediately immersed in memories. Memories about Snape. No, Snape's _own_ memories. Hermione realized that this is what he gave to Harry moments before he died. When she had been released from the memories, she looked back at the portrait.

"So, everything that has happened was _planned_. You planned for him to kill you. We were _supposed_ to be angry with him and hate him. And he just- took it! Because he loved Lily. I… he went through all of that and died and no one knew all _he_ had sacrificed, "Hermione exclaimed.

"Miss. Granger, Severus knew what he was doing. He wouldn't have agreed if he didn't know the risk. Now, are you ready for my next set of directions?"

Hermione looked at him for a long time. She didn't like the way Dumbledore did things, but what else was there to do? She didn't have any idea what to do next and things couldn't be left the way they were. If she accepted his help, then she needed to accept what came along with it. Plus-it seemed a bit ridiculous to take her anger out on a painting. She took a deep breath and looked at him, and then nodded.

"Go over to the bookshelf behind you and pull the book on the third shelf, eighth book from the left." He asked calmly.

Hermione walked over to the book shelf, but before she could make it, she saw something shining on the ground. She bent down under the guise of tying her sneakers and picked up a small piece of glass. She let out a small gasp! This is a piece of the two way mirror that Sirius had given Harry. He must have come up here to look at the memories and dropped it. Her heart gave a shudder when she thought of the last time she saw Harry, lying limp in Hagrid's arms. She pushed that thought away and discreetly put the piece of glass carefully in her beaded bag.

Hermione made it over to the book shelf and pulled on the book she was supposed too and there was a _click_ that sounded somewhere in the room. Turning around to where the noise had come from, a compartment under the floor board to the left of the desk had opened. She hurried over , knelt down and pulled out a small box that was nestled inside. When she opened the box she saw a Time-Turner. She looked back up to the portrait and tried to puzzle out what exactly was being asked of her.

"You want me to go back in time and…what? Stop Harry from going into the forest… or another chance to kill the snake? I don't think I understand." She admitted.

"You have part of the equation right; I want you to go back in time, but much farther than that. I don't think everything could be corrected in just a couple of hours - unlike last time." He gave her a pointed look. She looked down at the Time-Turner and she was flooded with memories of when her and Harry had saved both Sirius and Buckbeak from death by going back in time with her Time-Turner in her third year. The thoughts of Harry made her chest ache and she knew she couldn't afford to think about that right now.

"But, when Professor McGonagall gave me my Time-Turner in third year she told me that I could only go back up to 12 hours. That the furthest the Time-Turner could go back." She reminded him.

"Ahh, yes. Well, those Time-Turners naturally could only go back that far. But this one is special. Notice the color of the sand inside the hour glass?" He asked her.

She now took the time to closely examine the Time-Turner inside the box. He was right, normally the Time-Turners have a mixture of sand colors - each grain of sand in a tan or peach or off white color. But the sand grains in this Time-Turner were a lot lighter in color- almost blindly white. She looked up at Dumbledore's portrait and related her observations to it.

"This was the very first Time-Turner to be made. When the Committee on Experimental Charms first started to experiment with ways of time travel this Time-Turner was the first one to be made and tested. When a Time-Turner is made, a careful balance is required to make certain the owner cannot go back into time more than 12 hours in order to preserve the time line. It's the amount of magic that's in each grain of sand that determines how powerful the device will be. Because of the color difference in this time turner, the magic is too strong and it has the ability to take you to any time."

"I understand all of that, Sir, but I still don't understand what you want me to do with it." Hermione answered.

"After the night that Voldemort failed to kill Harry and the prophecy was set in motion, I looked for ways to help Harry on his journey. I collected every memory, lead, whisper, or clue I could about Riddles past in order to give Harry his best chance. But I also started to seek this Time-Turner in the event that our effort would fail. I finally located it in your 5th year, while in hiding from the Minister Fudge and coordinating with the Order." He looked down at her and she remembered that awful but short time during her 5th year when Dolores Umbridge was acting Headmistress of Hogwarts.

"However, the identity of who was going to use this Time-Turner was still undecided. I couldn't let Harry do it and completely disrupt the timeline. He looks too much like his father and it would raise questions. I didn't think it a good idea to go back myself. Too much knowledge is dangerous and I dare not trust myself. It would have to be someone able to blend in. Not someone from a recognized family name but someone clever enough to be able to navigate around those situations. I think you are perfectly capable of this journey." Dumbledore's portrait looked down at her with no hesitancy in his eyes and she knew that he thought she was the right person for this. But what exactly _was_ she supposed to do.

"I think that if my calculations are correct, eleven and a quarter turns should be about right. I won't tell you anything else- only that it's imperative for you to change certain events in order to save the most lives. Good bye and good luck."

"I'm sorry professor; I understand what you are telling me. I just don't exactly understand what I'm supposed to do when I get back." Hermione explained.

"You are a very intelligent witch. You have braved a very long journey in our attempt to defeat Voldemort. I think that it's safe to say that you will know what to do when you get there."

Hermione looked up at him with eyes searching for understanding. Hermione didn't like having a task set before her and not having all of the expectations clear. However, by now she had a good understanding of how Dumbledore set about these tasks, and she guessed this was something she was going to have to figure out herself. She nodded her head and set her jaw, hopefully making her look more confident than she felt. She nodded her head in acknowledgement of her assignment, and acceptance.

"Professor, I do have one question before I go. Why didn't you hide this with magic? I understand that Hogwarts is one of the safest places in the world, but wouldn't it be safer with a few more protection spells around it? Especially if it's as powerful as you say it is and it's the only one in existence." Hermione asked.

"That exactly the reason I didn't put any around. The type of people, like Riddle, who would be after a magical artifact like this one, would be expecting it to be closely guarded by complex or even dark magic. The thief would never expect for it to be hidden in such a muggle fashion. Don't expect the expected. When we place expectations on ourselves or others, it can set us up for disappointment and hurt. Delight in the spontaneity and mysteries of the world." Dumbledore's portrait said.

Hermione nodded her head again, and this time, she was really ready.

She did a quick inventory of what she had with her. She had her wand in her pocket; she had her beaded bag that she had been holding onto for almost the last year. It contained everything she could possibly need. It had her clothes, some muggle and wizard money, her cauldron, a collection of important books, healing and first aid supplies, and the rest of the camping gear that they packed.

She took the Time-Turner out of the box and lifted the chain around her neck. Despite it being in the box all this time, when the chain touched her neck it was pleasantly warm. She turned the hourglass over eleven and a quarter turns.

Hermione looked up and made eye contact with Dumbledore's portrait one last time before everything started spinning. Her eyes were trying to focus on anything surrounding her but all she saw were dark shapes moving in the distance. She was moving so fast that her legs started to wobble and her stomach started to feel queasy. Her head was aching from the strain on her eyes so she closed them, but that helped little with her balance and she ended up falling over onto her hands and knees.

She didn't know how long it was going to take her to get where she needed to go because she didn't know how far back she was going. Before she was born? Before Tom Riddle was born? Before Dumbledore was born? During the times of one of the Goblin Rebellions?

Her breath was coming in big gasps which was making her light headed and she hoped it stopped before she passed out, because there could be nothing worse than arriving in the past and unconscious, right?

Finally she could feel the air around her slow down and stop. Hermione opened one eye, and then the other. She was still in the Headmasters office. Did something go wrong? She turned to look at the portrait of Albus Dumbledore and instead was met with the questioning eyes of the living Albus Dumbledore.

He looked just like he did when she was at Hogwarts- his long white beard, his crooked nose, and his half-moon spectacles. She also noticed that he looked younger. How much younger, she couldn't say. So she knew she didn't travel back in time _too_ far that he wasn't the Headmaster of the school. She looked quickly around the office and noticed that it didn't look much different than when she had previously seen it. Fawkes perch was still there, and there were a few less silver instruments on the shelves then she remembered, but that's to be expected when you travel into the past.

She looked back at Dumbledore who opened his mouth, and then closed it. He looked at her closely and noticed her dirty and tattered clothing and all of the scratches and burns covering her body. He looked at her face and saw that besides all of the dirt smudges, there were also tear tracks.

"Ah…Good evening Miss…" he let the sentence linger, hoping she would fill in her name.

"Granger, Hermione Granger. Don't you remember me Professor?" She asked.

"No, I don't believe we have had the pleasure of meeting before." Dumbledore answered.

"Err… I guess I haven't got my letter yet. Sorry Professor." Hermione explained.

"If I may ask; you haven't received your letter yet? You must be at least sixteen years old, Miss. Granger." Dumbledore asked.

"Well, I did come to school here. Just… not yet; can I confess something to you, Sir? I'm not sure if I'm supposed to tell anyone but since it was your idea that I'm here, I guess I should trust you. But before I do, could you tell me the date?" Hermione asked.

"It's Sunday August 15, 1976." Dumbledore answered.

Hermione froze. 1976. She went more than 20 years into the past! Her head was spinning with so many things. How many laws did she break? 1976. Did she have to wear bell bottoms? Who was Minister of Magic? 1976. How old was she…wait, she wasn't even born yet! Where were her parents? 1976. How many children did Mr. and Mrs. Weasley have yet? What was happening in the first wizarding war? 1976!

She squatted down and put her head between her legs and just breathed in and out for a moment. She needed to collect herself, because this Dumbledore is bound to be just as confused as she was, maybe even more so, and she needed to focus. Standing up, she took a deep breath and looked at him.

"Okay Professor, I'll tell you everything I think you need to know. The first thing I want to tell you was that I'm here on your orders." Hermione studied him as she said this.

"My dear, I think I would remember scheduling a meeting very late on a Sunday evening," Dumbledore insisted.

"Err... that's the thing. You haven't done it yet. Well not in this time. You gave me this," she took off the Time-Turner and held it up in her hands for him to see. "Well, actually you didn't give it to me personally, but you gave me the directions on how to find it and what do to with it. I'm from the year 1998, and I'm here to try to change some things that happen in the future in regards to a dark wizard that goes by the name of Lord Voldemort. The opposition of him didn't go as well as we would have thought, and ended in a battle, here at Hogwarts. Using the time turner was an alternative plan to take down his organization." Hermione said all of this rather quickly, shifting from one foot to the other as she said it, worried about his reaction.

Dumbledore's eyes opened in surprise when she told him the date that she had come from, but darkened in a worried kind of way when she mentioned Lord Voldemort. He looked up at her from his desk chair and noticed her standing, clearly worried about how he would accept what she just said.

"Miss. Granger, please forgive my manners. Would you care to take a seat?" He asked her. It was a two-fold question. It helped her to relieve her of _some_ of her anxiety, but also to give himself another minute to digest and explore all that she had just told him.

Hermione took a seat in the chair across the desk from the Headmaster, at the same time that Dumbledore stood up, and started pacing back and forth behind his desk. He looked to be deep in thought and Hermione didn't want to interrupt him. Dumbledore paced a few more times before stopping. He stood still a moment longer before nodding his head and finally turning back to look at Hermione.

"I assume, Miss. Granger, that you have a reason for coming back this far in time?" The question was asked politely, but when she looked at him she could tell there was an edge of uneasiness to his voice.

"You, sir, gave me the Time-Turner and told me how many turns to go back and said that I would know what I needed to do when I arrived." Hermione explained. "I know you don't know me in this time, sir, but I know you well enough to know that you sent me to this time for a reason, and I'm almost certain that you had me use the Time-Turner while in your own office purposefully, so I have to think that I have something to do here at Hogwarts."

"I wonder why I should send you back in time at all. It's very dangerous to experiment with time. While we may believe that there is no harm in attempting to change the future for the better, time seems to have a way making amends."

"With all due respect, Professor, you have no idea what happens in the future." At this point Hermione stood up and started a pacing back in forth, just as Dumbledore did just minutes before. Pacing helped her think, almost like as long as she was moving, the gears in her mind would continue to move. 'You have no idea how many people we have lost, and all because of something that could have been stopped. If you think Voldemort is becoming dangerous now, imagine having 20 years to hone his craft. If there is a way for me to stop him as soon as possible, then I'm going to do it. I will, though, try leaving the smallest amount of impact that I can." She stopped and looked at him.

Dumbledore furrowed his brows as he thought over everything that she said. Finally, he looked at her and spoke. "I think I know myself quite well, Miss. Granger. Well, I know myself now and that is assuming I am not wholly different in the future," He chuckled to himself; his blue eyes momentarily had their sparkle back.

"That depends if you are still using wizard and muggle treats as your office password in this time," Hermione answered with an amused smile.

Dumbledore gave a small chuckle. "Well, I think I can say safely say that I know myself. And I wouldn't send you back unless I believed that it were important enough. There are some things that we should work out about your situation here. Do you know what you are to do after this meeting?"

"Not really sir. Your future self didn't give me too much direction. You seem to have a knack for making everyone figure everything out on their own, even if you have all the information they need. I believe the direction I need to go in will be apparent to me the longer I stay here."

"Stands to reason, Miss. Granger." Dumbledore said. "However, I feel it's difficult for me to be of any help to you when I don't know what to look for. Can I make a suggestion? Enroll in Hogwarts. While we don't know what your plans are for now, this could be your base of operations. You have food and shelter, an extensive library to use, and I and certain members of the staff would be more than willing to help you, if you feel comfortable in divulging such information. I know that it is last minute, but I'm sure this old wizard could come up with a satisfactory back story for you."

Hermione looked down at the floor and thought about this information. She needed time to figure out what she was meant to do and since Dumbledore- or- Dumbledore's portrait sent her back in time while still at Hogwarts it made sense that her mission would start here. She tried to think of anything else that she was missed in her calculations, but she couldn't think of anything. Finally, she looked up and nodded.

"Alright Professor, I think you're right. It's a good idea to stay here, at least for a while. It would also be helpful to have you close by to talk to about my ideas. I feel like I'm supposed to be here for a reason. I know I'm supposed to be here at Hogwarts during this time period." Hermione said.

"I see. Well, Miss. Granger this has been a long evening for you." Dumbledore started.

 _You have noooo idea_ Hermione said to herself.

"I think you need a good amount of rest and we can meet back tomorrow and discuss the specifics. I think you should get to bed. Madam Pomfrey is in the hospital wing. I will let her know to expect you. I think it would be good for you to head down there and take a Dreamless Sleep potion for the evening. I will come and check on you tomorrow. I don't know what you have been through, but I think you could use a good night sleep in a place where you are safe. You are safe here." Dumbledore said.

Hermione let out a long sigh that she didn't realize she was holding in and her eyes started to cloud with moisture. Those words were so welcomed and it had been a long time since she has heard anything like it. Hermione stood up and nodded. She wanted to say anything at that point. Thank you. Good night. Anything. But she couldn't make the words come out. So she nodded her head a second time, hoping she got her gratitude across to him, and walked out the door.

When Hermione got out into the corridor, she was struck by how similar everything was. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought that she was still in 1998. She walked the familiar hallways. Her body was tired, and she just wanted to rest. She walked as quickly as her tired bones could carry her. When she walked in through the door of the hospital wing, she was greeted with a familiar face. Madam Pomfrey looked just the same. She had a mixture of stern and no nonsense healer, with the comfort of a doting mother. She was wearing her dressing robe, but didn't look like she had gone to bed yet.

"Hello, dear- I just had word from the Headmaster. I have a bed already for you over here and a Dreamless Sleep potion ready for you." She led Hermione over to a bed right next to her office. There was a potion on the night stand and a set of pajamas had been laid out on the bed. The nurse turned and looked at her again. "Dumbledore didn't tell me any of the specifics, but if you need anything I am just through there.

As she went to pull the curtains around her head, she realized that she was still holding the Time-Turner. Without looking, she stuffed it into her beaded bag. She put it in the chair next to the bed, and Hermione peeled off her torn, dirt and blood stained clothes, and pulled on the soft pajama set. She grabbed the vial with the purple potion and gulped it down, climbed into bed and was asleep in seconds.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer- The only thing that I own here are the errors in grammar and spelling that you might find. Thanks =]

Chapter 2

Hermione started to stir the next morning, but her body still felt so heavy. She turned onto her other side and winced. She didn't know how long she slept, but it must have been a long time. You know that realization that you have when you slept in the same position the whole night? She definitely had that, and the sore right hip to prove it.

Suddenly, Hermione flung herself up in the bed, disoriented about where she was. Slowly, and painfully, all of those memories started flooding back. The battle. Harry. Ron. The Time-Turner. 1976. The hospital wing.

The clicking on heels on the floor brought Hermione back from her thoughts.

"There you are! You are finally awake. How are you feeling dear?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Err… okay, I guess," Hermione answered. She knew she was feeling the after effects of the battle, and while it was uncomfortable, Hermione knew that it would be even more uncomfortable to tell the nurse about it or give her a reason to try and examine her further.

"Well, all the same I think you should stay here in bed for a few more hours. You clearly need the rest. Lay back down. And I will have some breakfast sent up. Any requests?" Madam Pomfrey asked.

"Toast. Just toast would be fine, thank you." Hermione answered. She didn't think that her stomach could handle anything else, and she was secretly glad that she didn't have to get up yet. "Can I read while I stay in bed?" Hermione asked the nurse.

"I don't see why not. I might have some back issues of _Witch Weekly that_ might interest you." Madam Pomfrey said, heading for the office in search of some reading material for Hermione.

"Oh, I have some books. Could you please pass me my bag on the chair?" Hermione directed.

Madam Pomfrey picked up the back and passed it to Hermione. She took it with her left hand and she head Madam Pomfrey take a small gasp. When Hermione looked up she saw the nurse looking down at her arm. She quickly brought her arm back down, murmuring thank you, and folded it against her stomach, the other arm folding over it protectively. Suddenly, she didn't want to stay in bed. She wanted to leave and not have to deal with the pity in everyone's eyes when they seem the scar.

However, she was relieved of dealing with this situation any longer when Professor Dumbledore walked into the room. "Hello, Poppy. How is our patient doing this afternoon?" Dumbledore asked.

"Afternoon?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, it's just after one o'clock. I came to check on you earlier, but you were still asleep. Are you feeling rested enough to finish our arrangements?" Dumbledore asked patiently.

"Yes, I would like to figure everything out for the time being. I hate leaving things unresolved."  
Hermione explained.

"Well, I think we should decide which house to place you in." Dumbledore started

"Gryffindor. That's where I was and where I want to be."

"Are you sure? You wouldn't like a change? We can easily sort you again."

"If it's okay Professor, I think I've had enough change for a while. I think it would be a source of comfort to be able to stay in Gryffindor tower and eat at the Gryffindor table. Some consistency to my inconsistency," Hermione explained. Then, acting on a hunch, Hermione asked Dumbledore to tell her about the current Gryffindor students.

"Oh, probably not too much different from the student you left. They are teenagers. Although the years change, and so do fashions and current trends, teenagers do not change. Some study, some do not. They make friendships and have fights. They are romantically involved, and then they are not. They earn accomplishments, and then they earn detentions. Some, might I say, more than others." Dumbledore said this, and added a little chuckle at the end.

"I had a friend who seemed to accumulate detentions, too." Hermione said quietly, thinking about Harry. How strong willed he was and stupidly self-sacrificing to stand up and help those who needed help. She loved him for that.

"Well than, Miss. Granger, you might get along very well with the group of four Gryffindor sixth years. I don't think there will ever be bigger group of troublemakers in this school!" Hermione smiled that this and thought of Fred and George during her fifth year making their getaway from Umbridge. The last time she had seen them, Fred was dead, and George was sobbing over his brother body.

She shook her head. This isn't the time for her to get lost in these thoughts. She will have time later to think about the-

Wait. _Wait!_

 _Did he just say_ four _Gryffindor boys?_ Hermione thought.

"Did you say _four_ Gryffindor boys?" Hermione asked, nervously.

"Yes, it was a rather small number for the Gryffindor boys that year, but they don't let us forget them."

Hermione felt like her heart had jumped into the air; swan dived back down into her stomach and was left beating a mile and minute. But, she was torn. She had a hunch as to who those boys were, and she was both afraid an answer in the affirmative and the negative. She also didn't want to completely ignore the topic, but didn't want to focus on it too strongly. Finally, she thought about a response.

"They sound like quite the little Marauders." She said with a small but clearly guilty smile.

Dumbledore look at her for a moment with a twinkle in his eye. "That was very clever, Miss. Granger. I take it that you know these boys? Or rather, men, in your time."

Hermione deflated. "Yes. Well, some of them, "she admitted. "And some better than others. Which makes me think that _cannot_ be a coincidence. You said that they are in sixth year?" Even though she knew she heard him, she hoped he would correct himself and say _Oops! I meant seventh year!_

"Yes. Do you think they are part of the reason you were sent back?"

"I think… I think that it starts with them." Hermione answered. If James Potter, Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew were indeed at Hogwarts during this time, then it stands to reason that there were a lot of other people there at the same time. Harry's mother, Lily, would be there. And Snape. Hermione remembered what she had seen in the pensive from last night. Although she was angry about what happened to him, she promised herself that it wouldn't end like that again.

But, in order to do that, she needed to get close to them. Even become friends with them, if she could. However, that would mean repeating her sixth year again. Hermione let out a frustrated sigh, knowing that she would do it, but it would be like taking two steps forward, and then one step back.

"Miss. Granger, is there something you wish to talk about?" Dumbledore volunteered.

"No, it's just that I have already completed my sixth year and should move onto seventh, but I think… no, I _know_ … that I should stay with the current sixth years. " Hermione explained.

"As important as I think academia is, I believe that you have a rather important job ahead of you. Already knowing most of the material might be good for you. It will allow you a little bit of extra time to concentrate on the task at hand." He said.

"I agree, Professor."

"Now then, to your living accommodations. I would like for you to meet me at 10 o'clock in the morning in the Entrance Hall and I will let you in on my findings. I think the day after tomorrow should give me enough time to make all the arrangements."

"Thank you, Professor Dumbledore." Hermione said quietly.

"Well, than. If I know Poppy like I think I do, I believe that she would prefer if you stay here one more night. It will give me time to get everything straightened out for your upcoming school year. I have also talked to her and she would be delighted if you would assist in some potion making for the upcoming school year. Speaking of which, I must be off in order to get everything ready for our new student." He said.

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione whispered.

"Not a problem, Miss. Granger. I believe the wizarding world already owes you a great deal, and even more with what is to come." Dumbledore said with a gentle smile. At that moment, Madam Pomfrey came back into the room with a tray of breakfast food and beverage.

"You know, Miss. Granger, I would feel better if I had you stay here one more night. You need the rest and healing. "

Hermione had seen enough of Madam Pomfrey to know when to argue and when to not. She accepted that she was going to be staying her until the following morning.

Hermione spent the day reading and dozing. Madam Pomfrey checked in on her from time to time. She always looked like there was more that she wanted to say, but she held herself back. Hermione never asked her about it, because she was afraid the nurse was going to ask her about her scar, and while Hermione had accepted it as a part of her and what she had been through, she hadn't accepted the idea of the reactions of others.

Madam Pomfrey gave her another Dreamless Sleep potion that night, and Hermione woke up ready to leave the hospital wing. She got some clothing out of her beaded bag (a pair of her jeans and one of Harry's t-shirts) and was ready to go when the nurse came to check on her the next morning.

"Well, you look much better today, dear. I think that extra night really helped. Now, if you need anything you come back and see me. I don't know what you have been through, but for someone your age, it must have been something quite… well anyway. I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything my door is always open." When she had finished that, she put her arms around Hermione and gave her a motherly embrace. Hermione stiffened at first, but she than let herself be comforted. They stayed like that for a minute, and when they let go Madam Pomfrey became the nurse again. "Make sure you take it easy," she said before she turned around and walked back into the office.

Hermione hadn't decided what she wanted to do first today, but her stomach decided for her. She headed down to the kitchens to get some breakfast. She walked until she found herself standing in front of the painting of the bowl of fruit. She reached out and tickled the pear, and when it turned into a door knob, she entered and walked down the stairs. Because the students were gone for the summer, there were only a few house-elves in the kitchen. Hermione assumed it was because they were doing some kinds of summer cleaning while the castle was mostly empty. One of the house-elves greeted her at the bottom of the stairs.

"Hello Miss! I is Mitzy. Can I get Miss something for breakfast?" The house-elf asked.

"Hi Mitzy! It's nice to meet you. My name is Hermione. I was wondering if I could get a couple pieces of toast and some tea, please?" Hermione asked.

"Right away, Miss. Hermione," Mitzy replied.

It seemed like it was only 2 minutes later that she was sitting at a small table in the kitchen with a plate of toast and a warm mug of tea. Hermione chatted happily with the house-elf. She asked Mitzy things like how long has she worked here, did she have any family, and how she came to work at Hogwarts. The house-elf was very nice and answered her questions. It was a pleasant morning spent with enjoyable company. She thanked the house-elf and told her she would probably be seeing her around quite a bit when the school year started.

Hermione walked out of the kitchens and was trying to decide where to go. She definitely didn't want to go back to the hospital wing, and the thought of going to the common when it was completely deserted was awful. She knew where she wanted to go, but knew she could never go back there. Unless-

She turned and ran down the corridor and up so many stair cases. One of them moved, and she was forced to take the long way. However, it was well worth it when she finally reached the 7th floor and was standing in front of the tapestry of Barnabus the Barmy teaching trolls ballet. She walked back and forth in front of the empty space of wall thinking _there's no place like home._

When she had made her third pass the wall, her breath hitched in her throat. The door that was there was definitely recognizable. She didn't know if it would actually work the way she wanted it too, but seeing this gave her hope.

Slowly she walked up to the door and opened it. When she looked inside, she saw a sight that she never thought she would see again. _Home._

She walked into the first floor of The Burrow. The home to the Weasley family. She knew that living room like the back of her own hand. How many times had she sat at the kitchen table and watched Ron and Harry play Wizard's Chess, where Ron inevitably won every game. And the memories of the three of them working on homework in front of the fireplace. She and Ginny huddled up at night talking and giggling about boys. It felt so real. Hermione wouldn't have been the least surprised to see someone walking in through the back door or hearing one of the usual explosions that came from Fred and George's room.

Slowly she walked over to the couch. From the back of the couch she grabbed one of the Afghans that had been knitted by Mrs. Weasley, and snuggled down into the couch. As if the room knew what she wanted, the fire place instantly came to life, and it made the whole room feel even warmer than it had before. From her spot on the couch she continued to look around the room, until she saw something that made her snap.

It was the clock. Mrs. Weasley's clock that hung on the wall and that communicated the locations and statuses of the family. It currently said that all of the residents were _home_. She knew this wasn't true. There were names on that clock that haven't been born yet, so Hermione knew that it was another addition of the room. She didn't know if she was happy or not to see it, but it didn't matter because either answer still would have resulted in the stream of tears that leaked from the corner of her eyes.

And so she cried. She cried for Harry and Ron and Fred and Lupin and Tonks and Lavender and Sirius and Hedwig and Dumbledore and Dobby and Snape. She cried for the entire Weasley family and everyone else that she was either leaving behind, or who had been taken from her. She cried for her parents, who didn't even know they had a daughter when she left. She cried for the wizarding world and how she left it. She cried for herself and everything that she had been through for the last six years. She cried for so long that she ran out of tears, but still cried. Her lips were cracked and her eyes were swollen and her throat was dry. Her stomach hurt from trying to inhale enough air through her sobs. Eventually, she fell asleep.

When she woke up, it was from a dream where her, Harry and Ron were back in the Lestrange vault at Gringotts. The gold was burning her skin and she was being suffocated by the weight of it all.

It took her a minute to realize where she was. Actually, she recognized where she was immediately, but it took her a minute to realize that this wasn't actually the Weasley house. It was too quite. Even in the dead of night, there were still sounds to be heard here and there. The chickens were roaming in the yard, or the floors were creaking, or you could head the ghoul in the attic moaning.

Hermione sat up on the couch and was just thinking that the only thing that this the first floor of the Burrow didn't have was a bathroom. And then _pop!_ She looked behind her and there was another added door just off of the kitchen. She padded over and saw that there was a modest bathroom with all the necessities. Hermione pulled out a pair of Ron's pajama pants and an old warm jumper that Mrs. Weasley had knitted Ron one year for Christmas from her beaded bag and left them next to the sink. She shucked off her worn clothes and put them inside.

She let the warm water wash over her. It felt so good to be able to see beneath the dirt again. She washed her hair three times until it was clean enough, and then stayed in the shower for another 15, just because. It felt nice to have the warm water wash over her sore muscles and when she stepped out, she felt like a lot had been washed away by the shower. Not just the dirt and grime and blood, but feelings and fears and anxieties.

Hermione put on her pajamas that she had left out and walked back to the couch. She knew that her new life was going to start today. She needed to be rested and ready. She as much as she would miss everyone in the future, she knew that this was where she was needed and would make any sacrifice she needed too in order to keep the ones she loves safe. Or to make them safe this time- because she would. If she was going to do this all over again, she was going to make damn sure she could save everyone she could.

She had survived. If nothing else, she survived and she would survive again. She could handle this. Whatever was to come, she would handle it.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer- *le sigh* I own nothing of this magical world you are about to enter.

Chapter 3

Hermione woke up the next morning, and she was surprised how much better she felt. She needed the day to grieve and gave it to herself. It didn't mean that she wasn't going to miss her old life or her friends and family, because she missed them desperately. However, this was an opportunity to change. How often do you get to do things over? To fix the mistakes that have been made- or prevent them from even happening. The idea of beginning again was what was keeping her going.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione slowly got up off the couch, grabbed some clothing from her beaded bag, and walked into the bathroom. When she came out she caught a look of herself in the mirror, she saw it indeed had been a bad decision to go to bed with wet hair. It looked even more wild than usual, and she had a funny dent in one side from where her head had been resting on the pillow. She threw it up into a messy knot. She grabbed her wand and put it in her pocket and secured her beaded bag to her wrist. She took one last look around the Burrow. She knew that it would be a long time before she saw it again, if she ever did, and she took that last time and commit every detail to memory.

Hermione was going to go meet Professor Dumbledore today about what was going to happen to her. She needed to earn some money so she could buy her books and uniforms and such. Hermione was bummed that she didn't pack any of her old uniforms in her beaded bag, but she hadn't needed them. And even though Hermione was going to be repeating her sixth year, she didn't think that any of the books that she had already used were going to be part of the required reading.

Remembering to ask these questions to Dumbledore when she saw him, she stopped in the kitchen on the way down to the Entrance Hall to grab some breakfast and say Good Morning to Mitzy. It was early in the morning, so Hermione took her time eating breakfast, and then just walked along the corridors slowly. It was a nice time to take everything in and get ready for what was sure to be busy day.

When she finally reached the Entrance Hall, she saw that Professor Dumbledore was already waiting for her.

"Ah! Good morning Miss. Granger. Are you ready to set off?" He asked her.

"Yes, sir," she replied.

They walked out of the school and down towards the front gates. Hermione didn't know where they were going, and part of her wanted to ask, but the other part of her was really enjoying the silence between to two of them. She felt like she had done so much explaining the last few days, it was nice to enjoy silence with someone else.

They continued to walk until they reached the entrance of Hogsmede.

"Miss. Granger, I have made a few contacts and I have found someone who is willing to take you in. The story is that you are her niece, and you have come to stay with her because your parents have passed away, and as your mothers sister- she was your next of kin. This woman also owns her own business, so I have arranged for you to work part time when your schedule permits it, in order for you to earn money for your expenses. She is a lovely person and I think you will find your time living here quite enjoyable.

As for your back story, this is what I have come up with. You grew up in the UK, but when you were 10 your family moved to France and you have been attending Beauxbatons for your education. The Headmistress is a dear friend of mine, and has owled over some papers that have all of your affairs in order for the upcoming school year. Anyway, you have no next of kin when your parents died in a car accident, and it's a dangerous time for a muggleborn witch to be alone. When I heard about your story, I started looking for ways to help and that's how I thought to contact Rosmerta. We are going to tell everyone that she is your mother's sister and you have now been placed in her care." Dumbledore explained.

Hermione listened as they walked. It was a good story, and it covered the lies that they needed to tell the person she would be living with, and the ones that she would need to tell the other students at Hogwarts about her sudden appearance. She also couldn't help but find a lot of similarities between the stories that they were going tell everyone, and what was told to Harry for the first 10 years of his life with the Dursleys. When Dumbledore finished talking, they were right outside The Three Broomsticks. He pulled open the door and allowed Hermione to walk in first before following her inside.

It looked just the same. The tables were more or less in the same places, and the mirror behind the bar looked just the same as it did in her time. Even the glasses that were lines up on top of the bar looked to be the same glasses that were served in the future. Even down to the woman behind the bar, who was wiping down bottles of firewhisky, looked exactly like Madam Rosmerta

Hermione's eyes flew open when the woman behind the bar looked up to the door in greeting, and saw that it _was_ in fact Madam Rosmerta.

Dumbledore lead the way over to the bar, greeting Rosmerta as he approached. When Hermione made her way over, Rosmerta looked up and smiled.

"Miss. Granger, this is Madam Rosmerta Rhone. She owns this fine establishment, and has agreed to act as your guardian while you are attending Hogwarts. Rosmerta, this is Hermione Granger."

"Oh, it's lovely to meet you dear. I know that this is under horrid circumstances, but I'm happy to have you." Rosmerta greeted.

"It's nice to meet you too," Hermione said. It's not that it wasn't nice to see Rosmerta, but she had already met her before. Hermione didn't really have much of an opinion of the Rosmerta from her time. The woman had seemed friendly and welcoming, but Hermione was instantly filled with a dislike for the woman every time Ron would attempt at flirting with her.

 _It's not her fault_ _that Ron could be completely ignorant,_ Hermione thought to herself.

"Thank you so much for doing this. It's really wonderful of you to take in a stranger," Hermione said in small voice.

"Oh it's nothing! I think this will work out wonderfully, and I really want to help after all that you have been through. I have an extra room, and you won't be here for too long seeing as you're still in school. I was also thinking that you could help out around here and earn some money. You can work during the holidays, and I've arranged it with Albus for you to come down a couple of weekend days a month and work. Merlin knows I need the help. I meant to order 9 cases of butterbeer last week and accidentally ordered 19!" Madam Rosmerta said.

"I would absolutely love to work here. It's the least I can do." Hermione said.

"Well, it sounds like my work here is finished. Why don't I leave you ladies alone and you can get everything settled. I'll check in later on this week and see how everything is going. Don't hesitate to send an owl if you need anything. Rosmerta, I'll see you at the usual time on Thursday evening. Oh! And here Miss. Granger," Dumbledore said, handing Hermione an envelope with the Hogwarts seal on the back before leaving through the front doors.

"Oooh, is that your list of books! We'll have to make sure that we go to Diagon Alley next week and get everything. As nice as it is living in Hogsmede, one does get tired of the same stores day after day. I haven't had a day out shopping in Diagon Alley in too long!" Rosmerta announced. "Now, let's get you settled. Need any help with your trunk?" She looked around for the usual Hogwarts Trunk.

"I didn't have a trunk, I just carried everything in this," she said. Hermione help up her beaded bag. "Undetectable Extension Charm," she answered with a note of pride in her voice.

Rosmerta looked impressed. "Smart girl," she replied, "Okay. We'll have to get you one when we go out, than."

Rosmerta lead the way up stairs. When they reached the landing at the top and went through the door. Inside was a small but nicely furnished flat. It was decorated in warm colors and had a homey feel to it. There was a living room, kitchen, and dining room all connected in the main living area, and Hermione could make out a small corridor off of the living room that she assumed lead towards the bedrooms.

"Here is the main living area. Make yourself at home. Here's never food in the fridge, because I'm always working, but I'll try to do better at that." She started walking down the hall towards the bedrooms. "This one is mine," she said pointing to the door on the right." I've got a bathroom connected. This one is yours on the left and the last one all the way to the end of the hall is the bathroom, which will be yours to use. Check everything out and start to get settled in. I'll be downstairs when you're done. Today will be a crash course orientation for you."

Hermione opened the door of her bedroom and saw that is was simple, but welcoming. There was what looked like a queen sized bed with side tables on the side, a dresser, wardrobe, a tall bookshelf, and a roll top desk. In one corner there were a couple of bins of stuff that looked like they were there for storage, but Hermione didn't mind. She backed out into the hall and checked out the bathroom. It was a good size and plenty of storage for Hermione, who wasn't one to accumulate beauty products.

Hermione opened her beaded bag and took her time unpacking all of her stuff. She folded or hung up all of the clothes that she had, and put her books on the bookshelf (In alphabetical order by subject) and stowed away her toiletries in the bathroom. When she was done she went downstairs and received her first day of training as an employee of The Three Broomsticks.

The day went by fast, with Hermione working at various tasks. She wasn't old enough to be able to serve alcohol (at the age that she was pretending to be), but she was handing out food from the kitchen, clearing and wiping down tables, and restocking anything and everything that need to be restocked. By the time it was 9 o'clock, Rosmerta had sent her upstairs for the evening. She said that she didn't need the help, what with only 4 people in the bar. Hermione was happy to be relieved of her duties. Not that she didn't like it the job, because she did. It was good work, and it kept her mind busy, and she genuinely liked meeting more people from the wizarding community. But she was exhausted from her day of training, and was glad to have some time to herself on her first night there.

Hermione took a shower and dried her hair before getting into bed with a book. She didn't even get through one page before her eyes were closing and she fell asleep.

The next few days passed in much of the same way. Hermione liked living with Rosmerta. She was great balance of having someone around to talk, but also knowing when to give someone their space. They had made a tradition of having lunch together every day and it was becoming one of her favorite times of the day. She loved hearing all of the funny stories about when Rosmerta went to Hogwarts, and about all of the interesting customers she has had come to the Three Broomsticks. Hermione shared a little, but preferred to listen. She had a feeling that Rosmerta knew that, but she was one of those people who had more than enough stories to fill in any silence.

It was also nice to spend time with another woman. For the last year she had been living with Harry and Ron, and didn't have the time or energy to care what her hair looked like, as long as it was out of her face. Rosmerta, however, delighted in everything feminine. One morning Hermione was trying to tame her bushy mane of hair when Rosmerta came out of her room. She took pity on the young witch after hearing her curses of annoyance.

" _Crispum_ ," Rosmerta pointer her wand at Hermione and said. Instantly Hermione's hair was tamed into submission. It was still voluminous, but the curls were more defined and natural looking. It suited Hermione's style perfectly and had adapted it as part of her morning routine. Rosmerta told Hermione that she could repeat the spell multiple times to get the curl the way she wanted it, but Hermione liked the look of only casting the charm one, it was casual and easy.

Dumbledore stopped by on Thursday, just like he said, and Hermione found out that it was a tradition of some of the Hogwarts staff to come by on Thursday to have a drink. Hermione was introduced to Professor McGonagall, Flitwick, Slughorn, and the Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid. It felt weird being introduced to people that you already knew, but she smiled and made small talk. Seeing all of these familiar faces made her excited to get back to Hogwarts, but it was also very disconcerting to see these teachers that she had known for the last seven years and there being no sign of recognition in their eyes. Especially from Hagrid. Hermione had made sure to ask him about all of the animals that he looked after, and Hagrid warmed up to Hermione right away. She promised that when the term started she would make a visit down to his hut for some tea, and let him know how she was settling in.

One afternoon the following week found Hermione crouched down behind the bar. She had a pile of rags to fold and put away and a couple stacks of glasses that were just washed and needed to be restocked. Hermione was humming along to a song that was playing from the radio in the corner. The bell on the door dinged, signaling that someone had just walked in.

"Come on in, I'll be with you in a sec," Hermione hollered from her crouched position.

"Well don't keep me waiting too long, love," a deep male voice replied. It sounded like the person had just come up to the counter.

"Leave her alone Padfoot," said another male voice. "Let the poor girl get her work done."

Hermione froze. _"Padfoot"_ she whispered to herself. She knew she would see him and the other Marauders eventually, but Hermione thought that she has until at least September 1st. She took a deep breath and slowly rose to see over the bar. Two young men were sitting at the bar in front of her. One of them had long black hair that almost reached passed his ears, and a strikingly handsome face full of angles that were both hard and soft at the same time. Young Sirius Black was sitting in front of her.

Although in her time she didn't know him for too long, there was no mistaking it. When she had met him, his face was more hollowed and his eyes held the lingering darkness from his time spent in Azkaban, but he had an aura of life and laughter around him. This younger version was even more striking, and the good time vibes almost knocking her over. When he saw her, he gave her one of his most charming smiles and a wink.

She looked over to his companion and was met with a young Professor Lupin. Remus, she thought to herself. It was going to be a long time before he was ever her professor. He looked much younger here, his sandy blonde hair had more shine and luster to it than it had when she met him. His face was handsome, and though there were a few scars that lingered there, it didn't take away from his overall look. He smiled at her and offered his apologies for his friend.

"Sorry about him. We tried obedience training, but it never stuck," Remus said with a troublemaking grin.

"Moony, I'm hurt. You know that I ace every test put before me," Sirius said with a note of smugness. Turning back to Hermione he asked, "New girl, eh?"

Before Hermione could answer, Rosmerta came out from the back office and yelled clear across the bar. "Sirius Black, you better behave yourself," as she made her way toward the bar.

"Rosmerta, darling- you look ravishing. I just stopped by to see if you have finally decided the hell with it-to accept my proposal to run away with me, when I was distracted by your new hire. With as much time as I you and I spend together, I think I should make myself acquainted." He said with smirk to Rosmerta, and a bow to Hermione. "Sirius Black, at your service."

Hermione was a little taken aback by this Sirius. She had known that he was quite the troublemaker when he was in school, but she wasn't expecting this. While he was staying at 12 Grimmauld Place he had his bouts of merriment and enjoyed a joke or a funny story, and if this was him at the prime of his life, Hermione was coming to understand the toll that Azkaban actually had on him.

"Erm… Hermione Granger," she said. Then, just curious to see his reaction, she asked "So you know my Aunt Rosmerta?"

"Your Aunt?" Sirius sputtered. Hermione didn't know what came over her at this point, but she felt like he needed to be taken down a bit.

"Yes, and by the sounds of it, are you to be my new uncle?" She asked, fighting very hard to not to smile.

Sirius' neck started to turn pink, and she knew that she had won that round. However, it was Remus who her attention turned too. He was hanging onto the bar to keep himself up from laughing.

"Oh Sirius, that was priceless," he said. When he calmed himself down he extended his hand. "Remus Lupin and it is an _honor_ to meet you. I can't believe James and Peter missed that," he said.

"Missed what?" Asked a voice by the door.

In walked James Potter and it took Hermione's breath away. He looked so much like Harry. Considering the fact that Harry Potter was her best friend- she could tell that there were subtle differences between the two; the color and shape of their eyes, the length of the nose, and the angle of the chin. However, there was no mistaking the mop of untamable black hair that lay on the top of his head. He walked over with a smile on his face, followed by a shorter boy with mousy blonde hair.

Sirius cleared his throat. "Nothing, Prongs. Just meeting the new help," he said. "This is Hermione- Rosmerta's niece. Hermione this is James Potter and Peter Pettigrew." He introduced them.

While she should have known that Pettigrew wouldn't be far behind them, it still didn't stop her from being momentarily shocked at seeing him. In her mind, he was probably one of the biggest reasons as to why she was here. His betrayal started a domino effect of death and destruction of innocent lives. However, she was here to right wrongs that had been done. If he happened to be one of them, she would do it.

Extending her hand to Peter, first, she shook his in greeting. He looked a little taken a back at being noticed before James, and his ears went a bit pink at the attention. She then turned her attention to James Potter. She shook his hand as well, but held on a little longer than she did with Pettigrew. She couldn't help it, because he looked so much like Harry. It was like being introduced to an old friend.

"What can I get you, guys? Butterbeer?" Hermione asked. When she heard four yes's, she grabbed four bottles, flipped off the tops, and set them on the counter where each boy sat.

"Now what are you four doing here? School hasn't started, and I thought the deal was that I put up with you lot for 10 months of the year and you give me the last two in peace," Rosmerta said with a teasing smile.

"Oh come now, Rosmerta. You miss us when were gone. Plus, we're out doing our school shopping and we had to stop by The Three Broomsticks when we're in town." James explained.

"Well if you're doing you school shopping, why aren't you in Diagon Alley bothering Tom at the Leaky instead?" Rosmerta prodded.

"As any good students, we need to stock up on quills and ink, but a restock of our Marauding materials is a must. How else will we keep up our reputations? Besides, Gambol and Japes doesn't hold a candle to Zonko's. I wish a new pranking supply store would move into Diagon Alley. It would make it so much more convenient to have access to Dungbombs wherever we are." Sirius rebutted.

Hermione hid a smile. She knew that Fred and George would be moving into a storefront during her time, and they would be wildly successful in Diagon Alley. She didn't know if the twins had made the connection that Sirius was _the_ Padfoot of the Marauders. Sirius had been beyond the Veil when their joke shop had taken off, and never got to see his wish come to fruition.

"That's funny, dear. I've seen your list of required school materials and I didn't see any Zonko's products listed," Rosmerta said to Hermione.

"You're going to Hogwarts?" Remus asked.

Rosmerta took this moment to wander back into her office and leave the young people to talk. She was happy to see Hermione relaxing and hanging out with the boys. While they could be troublemakers, she knew they were very nice and trusted that they would look out for her adoptive niece.

"Mmmhmm. I got everything all sorted out with Professor Dumbledore. He even told me that if I wanted too, my aunt could apparate me to Kings Cross Station and I could take the Hogwarts Express. I live so close to the school, but it might be a nice time to meet some new people before classes start," Hermione explained.

"You should. The train ride there is always fun. It helps build up the excitement, especially if it's your first year. Well, not _being_ a first year, but it being your first year of attendance. What year will you be?" James asked.

"I'm a sixth year," Hermione said.

"Wicked! Us too!" piped up Peter, who looked like he had surprised himself at the outburst.

"Do you know which house you will be in, or do you have to wait until the sorting?" Remus asked.

Hermione shook her head. "Professor Dumbledore asked me if I wanted to be a part of the sorting ceremony. He said something about it being tradition and making sure every student had the chance to partake, but I would stick out like a sour thumb surrounded by a bunch of 11 year olds." The boys snicker a bit at this. "I went to see Dumbledore about my transfer and he sorted me there. I'm in Gryffindor," she said with a smile. She awaited the reactions that she knew would come.

Sirius just whooped and hollered in approval. Pretending to hold a sword over his head and yelling "Where dwell the brave at heart!"

James started asking her if she played Quidditch because the team was looking for a new seeker.

Remus started talking about the classes that were offered for sixth years.

Peter just stood there smiling like he was excited that his new friend was going to be in the same house as him.

"Woah, how many of me do you think there are? Okay, yes I'm happy to be in Gryffindor. I've read about it in _Hogwarts; A History_ and I think I'll like there. No, I don't play Quidditch but I enjoy watching it. I'll be taking Potions, Charms, Transfiguration, Defense Against the Dark Arts, Ancient Runes, Arithmancy, Herbology, History of Magic, and Astronomy."

"You've read _Hogwarts; A History?"_ Remus asked.

"Not now Remus. You two can _moon"_ Sirius wiggled his eyebrows at this word, "about books later. It seems we have a new classmate. Chances are, love, you will be spending a lot of time with us."

"Don't pay any attention to him, Hermione. His _bark_ is worse than his _bite_ ," Remus replied, wiggling his own eyebrows back at Sirius. Sirius barked with laughter at the rebuttal.

"So Hermione, you said that you were transferring. Where did you go to school before?" James asked politely.

"I was at Beauxbatons," Hermione answered.

"Oooh, 'ze French girls. Ju know vat 'zey say?" Sirius said with a poorly executed French accent and a seductive smile.

Hermione had to laugh at that. Although it was very unsettling to be surrounded by people who were dead when she left her time, she was also surprisingly relaxed.

"Padfoot, that was awful. Don't quit your morning job," James said.

"Morning job? Don't you mean your day job?" Hermione corrected. All of the boys laughed at this, even James.

"Yeah, probably. I think all those muggle clichés are so funny, but I can never remember how to say them quite right." He explained.

"Yeah, he's horrible at them. What was the one that you said to our dear Lily-flower last year? You were walking to class when Snape sent a tripping jinx at your feet. Lily started to laugh and you were trying to tell her that if _she_ had tripped you wouldn't be laughing. What was it? If the broomstick was on the other foot…" Sirius said laughing while James face was turning pink.

Remus grinned. "Then she started yelling at him for only talking about Quidditch and being so arrogant and self-centered."

"Mates, now what kind of impression are we giving our new friend about me?" James looked around and asked.

"The right one," Peter said. This sent a whole new wave of laughter from everyone; even Hermione couldn't resist a small chuckle. She felt bad for James, but she knew that he got the girl in the end.

"Well everyone, as much fun as this has been" James glared at his mates, "we've got a bunch of shopping to finish. Hermione, you really have been a _dear_ but we must bid you adieu." James said with a little snicker at the word 'dear'.

"It's been an absolute pleasure to meet you. Will we see you on the Hogwarts Express? If you decided to, let me extend to you the exclusive invitation to sit with the most handsome and eligible bachelor in the whole school?" Sirius said, standing up tall and puffing out his chest impressively.

"Sure. Are you going to introduce me?" Hermione said with a cheeky grin.

"Oh man, Hermione you _have_ to sit with us!" Remus said though his laughter.

"Serves you right for embarrassing me, Sirius," James added.

"What he means is that you can sit with us, if you want," Peter added with a shy smile.

Hermione looked over at him. Although the thought of how Peter Pettigrew ruined so many lives, she didn't feel like she was talking to the same person. This boy was sweet and shy and eager to be accepted. If that was what it was going to take to keep bad things from happening and reset events from the past, then she would do it. "Of course Peter. I would love to sit with you."

The boys left their money on the counter for their butterbeers and waved goodbye. They left with promises to keep a look out for her on September 1st and save her a seat.

When they left, she went back to the task that she had been working on before her brief but welcome interruption. Her emotions were all over the place. Seeing loved ones come back to life, and being in the company of the one who she hated. On top of that… there was James.

He looked so much like Harry that there was a dull ache in her chest every time she looked at him. From the brief meeting she saw that there were some similarities between the two, but James seemed a lot more confident in himself. His presence was noticed and he knew it. Harry always seemed like all he wanted to do was pass by unseen. Is James a version of Harry that he would become if given the chance to grow up with his parents in his life?

There were also other emotions, too, about all of them.

She couldn't help but notice how handsome Sirius was. Although she he was just flirting with her to get a reaction, she couldn't help but be pleased that he did it at all. She couldn't wait to get to know them better. She wanted to talk to James and find out more about Lily, talk to Remus about books and encourage him into teaching, and talk to Peter just to get his confidence a rise.

Hermione hadn't forgotten about why she was sent back to this time. She knew that there were things that needed to change, and she had things to do. She needed to find all of those Horcruxes again and destroy them. However, there were only five at this time. But Dumbledore's portrait had told her to come back to this time for a reason. Plus, if she was going to be here and go through all of this again, it was only fair that she had some fun along the way. She earned it.

She was definitely going to ride the Hogwarts Express.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** So I went through and finally edited the first three chapters better than I had, and Oooohh I am so sorry. Lots of typos and such. But! For putting up with my sorry editing behind, I'm gonna upload another chapter. This will be it for at least a few days, so enjoy!

Disclaimer- the only thing I own are a lot of lost bobby pins a whole lot of shoes. I take no credit for the magical world of Harry Potter.

Chapter 4

The few days later Hermione and Rosmerta made their trip to Diagon Alley, and it was mostly like she had remembered it to be. The shops looked much the same as they did in her day, and they did their shopping quickly. Hermione needed to buy all new books, because the books that she had from her time either didn't exist yet, or they were a newer edition than the ones that were required. She had a cauldron, but she needed to refill her potion making supplies. She also stocked up on parchment, ink and quills. They went to Madam Malkin's and got Hermione a couple of sets of new school robes.

They then went to muggle London and restocked Hermione on all of her toiletries; shampoo, condition, moisturizer and such. She also picked up some new muggle clothing that fit the era she was in. The clothing that she had packed in her beaded bag from her time made Hermione stick out like a sour thumb. However, she was frugal and creative with what she had, and she came out with some pieces she was sure to be able to mix and match with. The clothing she had was perfectly good, so there was no sense in it going to waste.

She spent the rest of the days in a similar fashion as the days before. She really liked working at the Three Broomsticks. It's not something that she would like doing forever, but she enjoyed the work and liked meeting new people. Rosmerta was even teaching her how to put in orders and take inventory. Hermione liked having the responsibility, but was also hoping to ease the load off of Rosmerta. She had been so kind to Hermione since she arrived and Hermione wanted to make sure Rosmerta knew how much she appreciated it.

Finally September 1st came, and Hermione woke up bright and early. She had things to do and wanted to make sure that she got it all done in time. She took a shower and did her hair quickly. Getting dressed took a little bit more time. It was taking her a little while to get used to the clothing during this time, and feeling comfortable in them. She put on a pair of brown bellbottomed corduroys, a long sleeved white sweater (she always made sure to hide her scar), and a pair of her own sneakers. She loved the sweater, because it was so soft. However, the bellbottoms were taking a little longer to get used to. They were so tight she felt like her bum was clear on display! She every so often she would pull the hem of her sweater down just a little farther in hopes that it would cover her up.

Hermione went back into the bedroom and finished packing all of her last minute things into her trunk. She had meticulously packed her trunk last night, but there were things that she would use in the morning that she couldn't pack. However, she did keep her beaded bag with her. She kept her uniform and school robes in there so she could change during the train ride.

When she was done she went to the kitchen and made some eggs and toast for herself, and put a plate in the fridge for Rosmerta when she awoke.

After she ate she went down into the bar and started pulling the chairs down off the tables. The Three Broomsticks didn't open until 10, but Rosmerta was opening late today so she could see Hermione off to school. Because of this, Hermione wanted to make sure that everything was in order for when Rosmerta returned. She restocked anything she could and double checked the inventory. On a bulletin board in the office, Hermione left a note about what the current numbers were for the order that was to be put in on Friday, the day after tomorrow. When she felt like everything was done she went back upstairs and saw Rosmerta using her wand to reheat her breakfast.

That was something that was hard for Hermione to get used too. When she was on the run with Harry and Hermione, she could use magic anytime she wanted. Now, she had to be careful. Rosmerta didn't mind that Hermione used magic inside the flat because it was just the two of them in an all wizard community, so there was no way for the Ministry to know who was using magic. However, in every other aspect of her life, Hermione was left magic less. She grew up a muggle, so she was raised to do everything by hand. But, being in the magical world had spoiled her and so certain things that she would normally do with magic she was forced to do by hand. Needless to say, she couldn't wait to be back at Hogwarts!

They apparated around the corner and walked to Kings Cross Station. While they were walking towards Platform 9 ¾, she could see a couple of other families with children that were pushing trolleys that had Hogwarts trunks and owl cages on it. Hermione and Rosmerta made it through the barrier and they were met with the scarlet steam engine before them. It was crowded with parents and students saying goodbye, getting last minute advice about the upcoming term, and being reminded to follow the rules.

Rosmerta looked at Hermione. "Do you need any help getting your trunk on the train?" she asked.

"No, I'm okay. You should go before it gets any more crowded. You need to get back to the bar. I really appreciate you coming with me this morning. Well, not just this morning, but letting me stay and being so welcoming. It has made this whole… transition that much easier. So, thank you for that, Rosmerta." Hermione said sincerely.

Rosmerta didn't say anything, but swept Hermione up into a tight hug and let the gesture be enough. When they pulled apart, she looked at Hermione carefully, as if to make sure that Hermione really was okay and didn't need her to stay.

"Alright, well- have a safe trip and send me an owl tonight or tomorrow so I know that you have settled in. Feel free to owl me if you need anything, and I'll see you in a few weeks! I can't wait to hear about all of your classes and the people you meet. And the boys that you might meet… or already met," she added with a wink. Hermione bushed at this, giving Rosmerta just the reaction that she had been looking for.

"I will see you soon. Thanks again!" Hermione waved to Rosmerta as she started to walk back to the barrier and out into muggle London.

Hermione looked around and started to walk towards the train. She started to lift her trunk when someone bumped into her from behind. She dropped the trunk right on her foot, and let out a yelp. Turning around, she saw a young man with greasy black hair and a long hooked nose.

It was none other than Severus Snape who had bumped into her. He looked just like he did in the pensive memories, already in his school robes.

"Watch it," Snape answered.

"Watch what? You bumped into me," Hermione answered.

"No, not you- I'm talking to him," he pointed to what looked like a second year behind him. By the looks of it, he had lost control of the trolley and crashed.

"Oh, sorry- I thought you were talking to me. I'm Hermione Granger, nice to meet you," Hermione said while extending a hand to the Slytherin.

He looked down at it for a moment as if waiting for something to happen. When nothing did, he shook her hand gently. "Severus Snape," he replied.

"So 'Severus Snape', any chance you could help a girl with her trunk. The first attempt left me with a wounded foot," she said with a smile.

He looked a little hesitant at first, but when she smiled at him he gave a very small one back and nodded. Heaving her trunk up, he was able to get it settled onto the train.

"Thanks. That was a real help. Who knew what other injuries would have resulted- had you not come to my rescue," she added lightly.

"You're new, right? I mean this is your first year here?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm transferring from Beauxbatons. I recently moved in with my Aunt who lives in London. I'm a sixth year." She explained.

"I am as well. Are you going to be sorted tonight?"

"Oh, no. Dumbledore offered that, but wouldn't I be a sight along with all of those first years. I was sorted privately. Gryffindor," she told him. "What house are you in?"

"Slytherin," he answered pointing to his robes.

"Well, since we are both sixth years, does that mean we will have any classes together?" she offered. She knew they probably would, but she was keeping up her charade.

"Most likely. Slytherin house usually has Potions with Gryffindor house. Are you taking Potions?"

"Yes, I am. If we are in the same class, save me a seat?"

"You would want to sit with me?" he asked.

"Well sure. It's not like I know many people here, and you were so nice to help me. Why wouldn't I want to sit with you?"

"It's just that, typically, Gryffindor's and Slytherin's don't get on too well." He explained.

"Well that may be true, but you and I seem to get on just fine. I'd be happy to sit with you in class. It would be helpful to sit with someone who can show me the ropes," Hermione added.

"Erm… okay," Snape conceded. He then looked up at her hopeful. "Would you like to sit in a compartment with me," he asked nervously.

"I can't," Hermione said. Snape looked crestfallen. Adding quickly she said, "It's just because I already made plans to sit with some other people. But I really appreciate the offer," she said as nicely as she could.

He seemed to accept this, and nodded his understanding. "Well, maybe I'll see you in class. I hope your journey is good and enjoy the feast." He said stiffly. And with a nod of his head, he headed onto the train.

She didn't know how to feel about this exchange. She felt like she made a good impression, and he agreed to let her sit with him in class, but he looked so hurt when she said that she couldn't sit with him. There, she decided that one of her goal while she was back here was to befriend Snape. _Severus._ She needed to get into the habit of calling his Severus.

She was pulled away from her thoughts by a ruckus that was being made by the barrier. She moved a little closer and ducked down behind a trolley to watch the scene before her.

Peter Pettigrew and Remus Lupin were each pushing trolleys that were laden with luggage, and on top of the luggage on each trolley sat James Potter and Sirius Black and they were both singing at the top of their lungs.

" _The boys are back in town,"_ Sirius belted.

" _The boys are back in town,_ " James echoed.

" _The boys are back in tooooooooooooooooown"_ they finished together.

Everyone on the platform laughed. James and Sirius jumped down and landed gracefully. Then, they finished their performance with a sweeping bow- done by each in turn. There was a group of girls that immediately came up and tried to flirt with the group of popular boys. Remus and Peter didn't really pay much attention to it, but Sirius and James were eating it up. They both had on their most charming smiles and clearly loved the attention.

However, this didn't last too long. All of a sudden James attention wasn't on the group of giggling girls anymore, and he turned around and busied himself with helping Remus and Peter with the luggage.

 _That was strange_ Hermione thought to herself. She looked around the platform and instantly, she knew. Unloading her luggage onto the train with an older couple was a beautiful redheaded girl. _Lily Potter-_ err- _Evans._ Harry's mother. She didn't know too much about this woman, just that she was beautiful, kind, and talented in Potions. And they would be sharing a dorm this year.

This thought instantly made Hermione nervous. She didn't have a lot of practice with female friends. She was close with Ginny and Luna, but that had been because they were part of Dumbledore's Army and helped her, Ron and Harry out in the Department of Mysteries. It was one of those experiences that you can't come out of and not be close.

Hermione saw the Marauders heading towards the train, and she figured it was time for her to come out of hiding. She started walking towards the train in a path that she knew would lead her right to the group of boys. Pretending she was marveling the train, but also being careful about where she was going to 'accidently' walk, she ran straight into Peter.

"Ooh, sorry. Wasn't watching where I was going," Hermione said. When she looked up, she pretended to be surprised. "Hi, Pete! How have you been?"

Peter colored at the nickname and mumbled something about being fine. At this point, the other three boys had noticed that one of their numbers was missing. They started walking back to find Peter when they noticed who he was standing with.

"Oi, Peter! Look what the rat dragged in," James said.

"Don't you mean what the 'cat' dragged in?" Hermione questioned.

"No, that time I meant it," he said with a chuckle.

"How have you been, Hermione?" Remus asked.

"I've been good. How have you been?" She asked. She knew that the full moon was a week from today, and Remus was looking tired.

"I've been great, thanks," he answered.

"So, you decided to take us up on the offer and ride the train with us, right?" Sirius interrupted.

"Yeah, you said that I was going to sit with the most handsome and eligible bachelor in school, so I came to ask Peter if I could sit with him," Hermione said with a smirk.

James and Remus laughed at this and Peter colored even more. Sirius was looking thoughtful, though. She didn't think he liked that she was able to get the better of him, but he wasn't backing down from a challenge.

"Oh man, that _never_ gets old! Come on, Hermione. Out compartment is in the back," Remus said offering his arm. Hermione took it and the five of them walked to the back of the train and into an empty compartment.

"So Remus, do you have to go up to the front right away?" Sirius asked.

"No, I only had to do that last year. This year I know when I'm supposed to be patrolling. I have some time to hang out before then," Remus answered.

"You see Hermione, Remus here is a prefect. He's got responsibilities and stuff. We told him it was a waste of time, but he insisted," James said.

"I was something like that at my old school," Hermione said. That wasn't really a full lie, because she _had_ been a prefect like Remus.

"Oh no, another one? Let me guess, you're a rule follower too," Sirius said dramatically.

"I like the rules, but I'm not afraid to break them," Hermione said. She was thinking about when she, Harry and Ron had brewed Polyjuice potion in her second year in order to sneak into the Slytherin common room.

"I like the way you think," Sirius said with a wink.

When they reached the compartment the boys let Hermione inside first and she chose the seat next to the window. Sirius sat down next to her and Peter next to him, while Remus and James sat on the bench across from them. Looking out, she could see all of the families lined up on the platform to see the train off. Just then, the whistle blew, signaling that the train was about to take off. Last minute hugs were given as the students jumped on the train and off they went.

When she turned back to the boys, there was a lively debate about Quidditch.

"It's definitely going to be Puddlemere United this year. Have you seen the team? With the set of chasers they have, there is no way they won't win," James said confidently.

"I don't know, James. Ireland is looking pretty good. And with the new brooms that they just bought, they could easily outstrip the other teams in the league," Sirius argued.

"What about the Harpies? I know they're still new to the league, but I have heard they have made some amazing plays," Remus offered.

"Don't count out the Falcons. Their keeper is superb and barley averages 30 points per game," Peter added.

"I think it's going to be the Cannons," Hermione said with a straight face.

All four boys looked at her with confusion on their faces.

"Ha! Just joking, but you should see your faces," Hermione laughed.

The boys relaxed after this and Hermione took the time to change the subject.

"Hey James, I remember there being mention of someone named Lily-flower. Is there a special someone in your life?" She teased.

James color at this, but it was Sirius who answered. "He only worships her. She's a bird in our year and old Prongs here has fancied her since third year. Only thing holding him back is the fact that she thinks he's an arrogant toe-rag."

"Well what did you do to her?" Hermione asked James.

"What! I didn't do anything to her! I've complimented her and asked her out and offered to carry her book-bag," James answered.

"And hexed her best friend any chance you got in the process," Remus added.

"You did? Well no wonder she wouldn't go out with you. If anyone hexed you guys I wouldn't be thrilled about it, and I barely know you," Hermione said.

"You would too, if you saw him. Greasy haired git from Slytherin who loves the dark arts way too much," Sirius said.

Hermione knew who they were talking about, but decided to leave that subject alone. She then went for a different approach.

"So, what are the teachers like at Hogwarts?" she asked.

Remus was the one who answered. "They're pretty good. Flitwick teaches Charms and he's really patient and always willing to stay after class if there's something you need help with. Head of Ravenclaw. Slughorn teachers potions, and might try to recruit you for his 'Slug club'. Head of Slytherin. Then there's McGonagall-"

"Mmmmmm…" Sirius sighed with a far off look in his eyes.

"-who teaches transfiguration and is head of Gryffindor. She's a good teacher, but real strict, even with her own house."

"And I take it Sirius has some strong feelings about her," Hermione said.

"He fancies her. Well, I don't know if it's really her, or more of what she represents." James explained.

"She's brilliant, for one. And she's so rigid and a big rule follower. But you just know that when she's behind closed doors the glasses come off and the hair comes down. Very… kitten with a whip," he added said with a goofy grin.

That comment earned a snort of laughter from the other boys in the compartment. Hermione had to bite down on her lip in order to keep herself from laughing. Instead, she had to screw up her face to look confused about their reactions.

"Let me explain. Professor McGonagall is an animagus, and she turns into a cat." Remus said.

"Ohh… that makes sense. So, I take it that you lot make a bunch of cat jokes to her. Yarn balls, shedding fur, purring, kitty doors- that kind of stuff?" she offered.

Sirius snapped out of his day dream about McGonagall and looked at Hermione like he could kiss her. Then he actually did just that, and he reached over and planted a wet kiss on her cheek.

Hermione's face went beet red, and she wiped her cheek. " _What_ was that for?"

"Guys, a cat door. Why didn't we think of that? We need to install them everywhere- her office, the Transfiguration classroom, and the Great Hall." Sirius said to the other three boys. Than he looked back at Hermione and said "You _have_ to be part of the prank planning committee. If you're coming up with this stuff without even trying, who knows what other little gems are hiding in that beautiful brain of yours."

The other three boys nodded in agreement, and then the four of them bent their heads together to start their prank planning. Hermione had awoken early this morning so she settled in and soon was rocked asleep by the movements of the train.

She was awoken by someone saying her name and gently shaking her awake. When she opened her eyes she noticed that it was dark outside, and the lantern had been lit on the train. Hermione looked up and noticed that Sirius's face was very close to hers, his storm grey eyes looking at her warmly. She immediately looked down before she had the chance to get lost in them, and that was when she noticed that her body seemed to be a bit squished. Pushing herself up, she realized that she had been sleeping _on_ Sirius, and he had draped his arm around her for warmth and stability.

Her cheeks flushed immediately.

"Sorry to wake you, you looked so peaceful, but we're going to be at Hogwarts soon and you need to change into you robes," Sirius said softly.

"Okay, thanks. Sorry I slept on you," Hermione mumbled.

"It's not a problem." He said with a smile. "There are bathrooms just down the hall," he added.

Hermione grabbed her beaded bag and headed out the door. When she reached for the door, she was surprised when it opened on its own. Out stepped a girl with long red hair.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know anyone was out here. My friends and I got so busy catching up about our holidays that I completely forgot to change," she said.

"Yeah, I had the same issue. Except mine was due to a nap," Hermione replied.

"You're new, aren't you? I'm Lily Evans. Do you know what house you're in?"

"Yeah, I'm in Gryffindor. I'm Hermione Granger."

"Me too. I'm a prefect as well, so if you need anything, let me know. I'd be happy to help you find your classes and show you around," Lily offered.

"Thanks, that would be great,"

"Well, I'll let you change. I'll see you at the feast," Lily said with a wave.

Hermione changed into her robes and put her muggle ones back into her beaded bag. When she was done she walked back to the Marauders compartment to see that they had all changed into their robes as well.

"We should be there shortly," Remus said.

"Good. I'm starved!" Hermione complained. It was accompanied by a rumble from her stomach.

"Yeah, you missed the trolley- came around while you were sleeping. Got you a couple of chocolate frog," James said offering her two small wrapped packages.

"Thanks, you're a life saver," Hermione said. She started to open a package and she noticed that James was watching her with mixture of nervousness and excitement. She looked back down at the candy, then back at James and said "What did you do to them?"

"Nothing. Just open it. I want to see who you've got. I only need a few more and I have the entire collection," James explained. Hermione rolled her eyes and opened both candies.

"I got a Godric Gryffindor and Alberic Grunnion," she told the boys. James looked disappointed.

"Nahh… got both of them," he said.

Just than the train started to slow down as it was making it decent into Hogsmeade. Hermione and the boys stood up and started to make their way off the train. They all kept close to her so she didn't get lost in the mass of black robes.

Ahead of her she heard the unmistakable voice of Hagrid yelling "Firs' years! This way!"

"Hi Hagrid!"

He looked down at her and smiled. "Hi there 'ermione! We still on fer tea next week?"

"Absolutely, I'll send you an owl!" she answered.

As they were making their way to the thestral-pulled carriages, Hermione noticed that Lily was just ahead of them talking with a couple of other girls.

"Alright, Evans?" James yelled.

Lily's shoulders fell when she looked back and saw James but brightened when she saw Hermione.

"Hi Hermione," she said, completely ignoring James.

Hermione waved back. James was staring down at her with an incredulous look.

"You know Evans?" he asked.

"Yeah, well I mean I just met her on the train. We bumped into each other. She seems really nice. Is that your Lily-flower?"

"I'm not _anyone's_ Lily-flower," Lily yelled from in front of them.

Lily and her friends filled up one carriage, and Hermione and the boys filled up another.

The ride up to the castle was quite. The boys were talking amongst themselves, and Hermione was looking out the window. She was nervous, for some reason. The last time she had been coming up to the castle this way, she was with Ron, Neville, Ginny, and Luna. Harry, at the time, was getting his nose broken by Malfoy for spying on him. Hermione smiled a little thinking about her friends. It was definitely going to be strange being back here without the people who really made it feel like home for her.

Finally the carriages slowed down and they all climbed out.

"So first we go into the Great Hall and wait for the first years to be sorted, and then Dumbledore usually has a few words to say. Then the feast," Peter explained.

"Thanks, Pete," Hermione said. "This place is huge! Where do the Gryffindor's live?" she asked

"The fifth floor behind the portrait of the Fat Lady. There's the common room and all of the dormitories," he explained.

"Yeah, we'll help you get there," Remus offered.

"Thanks, but Lily offered to show me around, and I think I'm going to take her up on it. It will be a good way for me to get to know her and some of the other girls that I will be living with," Hermione said.

When they finally got into the Great Hall and the boys showed her which table was the Gryffindor one, her stomach was rumbling again.

Soon, Professor McGonagall came in through the doors leading a group of terrified looking first years. As McGonagall walked down between the tables, Sirius made a loud wolf whistling sound. McGonagall seemed to know instantly where the sound came from and gave Sirius a disapproving look.

Remus leaned over from next to her and said "He does that every year. She always acts annoyed but I think she secretly likes it. She's never taken house points away because of it."

The sorting took forever, as usual, but without fail, every time some of the new first years were sorted into Gryffindor, she and the rest of her house made sure the cheer loudly.

When all the first years were sorted, Dumbledore stood up and silence came over the entire hall.

"Welcome back to another year! I just have a few announcements before we tuck into this magnificent feast. For everyone, the Forbidden Forest surrounding the grounds is just that, Forbidden. Also, our caretaker Mr. Filch has asked me to remind you that no magic is allowed in the corridors and that the list of banned items has been expanded to 193 and is now including Fanged Frisbees and Dungbombs. There is a list posted on his office door if there are any questions.

We also have a new professor joining us this year. Our new Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers will be Professor Bodrick Bode". There was a clean cut looking wizard sitting on the other side of Flitwick. He had brown hair that hung down to his ears and a long nose. He lifted a hand in greeting at this acknowledgement.

Hermione had a moment where she thought that name sounded familiar, but couldn't be sure. She quickly shook it off to listen to the rest of Dumbledore speech.

"Now," Dumbledore said, "it's time to dive in." With a wave of his hands, trays of food appeared on the table in front of them.

While everyone was loading their plates up, Hermione took the chance and asked "So, new teacher, huh? What happened to the old one?"

Of all people, Remus was the one to color, from both embarrassment and pride.

"Oh he was a bloody git, he was. Didn't learn a thing and he hated everyone. Never gave out points and was horrible to all the students and staff. McGonagall couldn't even stand him. Anyway, in response to his _attitude_ , we took it upon ourselves to show him the error of his ways. See, he had this toad that he _loved_. Was always carrying it around and talking sweet to it. We hid it all over the castle. On chandeliers, in suits of armor, and we even hung him like a Christmas ornament on one of the trees in the Great Hall! The last straw was when Moony, here, stuck him on a lily pad and sent him out floating on the Black Lake," Sirius explained.

"Remus! You didn't," Hermione exclaimed.

"You never met the guy. He was bloody awful and there was nothing nice to say about him. And Herman was just fine," he added.

"The teacher's name was Herman," Hermione asked.

"No, the toad was named Herman," Peter said.

There was a small round of laughter, and when Hermione composed herself, she said "Wow, I never thought you would do something like that."

"You see. This is proof right here," James started. "Everyone is always talking about how Moony here is the level headed one. He doesn't prank and he doesn't scheme and he doesn't make fun of his friends. He's nice and sweet and helpful and kind. Well here's the truth. Remus is just as bad a Sirius and I. You remember back in 4th year when Greta Catchlove kept following me around and sending me ridiculous amount of cheese? Remus here took it upon himself to slip her a love potion. Gave it to her for almost 3 weeks before I figured out. Poor girl was wildly embarrassed - I can't look at a nice Gouda the same," James told then, ending with a sad and far off look which received a huge laugh from everyone.

"Well, I know I need to keep my eye on you, Mr. Lupin," Hermione said

"You can keep whatever you want on me love," Sirius flirted.

Hermione looked at him right in the eyes. "Okay," she purred. She turned her head and looked at James. "James, please get on Sirius."

Before Sirius could protest, James jumped right into Sirius's lap, knocking them both to the ground.

"Really, Potter, we can't even get through the feast without your shenanigans." Lily yelled from halfway down the table.

James looked like he wanted to make fun of her choice of wording, but thought better of it. He shot one of his goofy smiles up at her and pulled himself off of Sirius.

"Anyway, back to the teachers. So you had the toad-lover last year, did you have any other teachers before him?" Hermione wondered.

"Yeah, before him it was the bloke who was trampled by a horde of angry unicorns, and before that it was the bird that up and eloped and moved away to Venezuela, then before that it was the old guy who went to look for something in the forest, and he didn't come out for 3 weeks." James explained.

"So have you had DADA teacher last more than a year?" Hermione asked.

"You know… now that I think about it we haven't." Remus muttered to himself.

The boys were lost in thought after this. The rest of the feast passed by uneventfully and when everyone had eaten their fill, Dumbledore waved his hands again and the plates and goblets were cleared.

"Now, off to bed. You all must be rested for a full day of new and challenging experiences," he said. "Prefects, please make sure to show the first years to the common rooms."

The whole hall started to get up. Shouts of "First Years!" could be heard throughout of room. Hermione started looking around for Lily when she heard her name being shouted.

"Hi. I thought I would walk you up to the tower," she offered.

"That would be great! Thanks," Hermione said.

"Hi Lily," Remus greeted.

"Remus!" Lily squealed and launched herself at him, giving him a big hug. "I missed you! How was your holiday?"

"Hey Lily," James interrupted.

"Potter," Lily acknowledged.

"Evans," Sirius said.

"Black," she replied. "Come on, Hermione. This way," she said as she dragged Hermione towards the staircase.

The trip up to the tower was very enjoyable. Lily was very nice and welcoming towards Hermione. Lily was full of information about the goings on of the school, and was happy to share stories and helpful tips to the 'new' student.

When they arrived at the portrait, Lily said the password to the Fat Lady (bowtruckle) and they headed inside. However, when they arrived in the common room, all four Marauders were sitting in the arm chairs by the fire.

"What took you so long? Did Lily-pad here take the long way?" Sirius joked.

Lily's eye narrowed. "How did you get here so fast? We left _before_ you."

"You should know by now, love, this castle holds no secrets that the Marauders don't know." He said.

Lily strode off towards the staircase that lead to the dormitories and waited there for Hermione to follow.

"Good night," Hermione said to the boys and headed to the stairs as well. She heard a chorus of "Night!" behind her as she ascended.

Lily lead the way to the correct room, and when they got inside it was just like Hermione remembered. It wasn't the same room that she had been in, that was a few doors down, but it was almost identical. There were more beds in this dorm than had been in the future, which meant that she was to have more roommates. Hermione was so tired that she grabbed her pajamas from her trunk, quickly changed, and headed to bed. She exchanged a small "Hello" to the other three girls in the room, but she would take the liberty of introducing herself in the morning.

It had been a long day and she knew that tomorrow was going to be another. She also knew that she needed to start working on a plan to find the Horcruxes that had been made in this time, but it could wait. What she needed now was a goodnights sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer- I don't own any of this. None. Zero. Ziltch. Nadda. Nothing.

Chapter 5

Hermione woke up early the next morning and hopped right into the bathroom. She showered and dressed, taking care to look over her appearance. Before, when she was at Hogwarts with Harry and Ron, her appearance hadn't really mattered to her. She had so many other things going on and the wizarding world to help save, so it didn't really matter if every hair was in place. This year, thought, she had already taken all the courses. She wasn't nervous about the classwork or the teachers, she was more worried about the other students and how she was going to be received. Being new always made everyone pay more attention, and she was sure she was only getting a fraction of the attention that Harry used to receive on a daily basis.

Checking her appearance one more time and making sure that the cardigan she was wearing was covering her scar; she went back into the dormitory to see that the other girls had started waking up. Well, two of them were awake and attempting to pull a third out of bed.

"Sorry I didn't introduce myself last night, I was exhausted. I'm Hermione Granger," she said to the three new girls.

"Hi, I'm Mary," said a pretty girl with long chocolate brown hair. "This is Dorcas Meadows," she pointed to a girl with beautiful caramel colored skin and long black hair. "And this lump over here is Marlene McKinnon, who will smell because of her lack of shower and be grumpy because she missed breakfast if she doesn't get her arse up _right_ now!" Mary yelled. Between the two of them, Dorcas and Mary managed to pull the blanket out from under Marlene and spin her off the bed. She landed with a thump.

Hermione looked at Lily, who was setting getting her uniform out of her trunk. "Does that happen often?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, usually once a week- she is _not_ a morning person," Lily explained as Marlene had gotten up with a scowl on her face and marched over to the bathroom.

"You will thank up when you have showered and eaten some bacon," Dorcas told her. Marlene stumbled at the word bacon, but then continued on to the bathroom.

"Well I'm ready, so I'm going to head down. I think I remember the way from last night. I'll see you down there?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, I've got to get ready and we will meet you down there," Lily offered.

Hermione grabbed her bag and walked down the stairs. She was surprised to see the Marauders sitting on a couple of the couches. When they saw her they all stood up and walked over.

"Since you were with Evans last night and it took you bloody forever, we thought we should take you down to breakfast and show you how to navigate the castle like a Marauder," Sirius offered.

"That would be lovely," Hermione said and they walked out of the portrait. The boys showed her some of the secret passageways that would save her time on her travels around the castle. Hermione knew all of them already, and she felt like she had been taught all of these secrets from the same group of boys. Hermione didn't know how many times she had looked at the Marauders Map, but there was something extra special about being shown in person. She made sure to 'oooh' and 'ahh' at all the right times and act like she was thoroughly impressed. By the time they walked into the Great Hall the boys were walking with a definite spring in their step.

"So when do we find out about our classes," Hermione asked.

"McGonagall will come around and pass out our timetables. It's a bit different this year because we are all taking different classes," Remus explained.

They loaded their plates with delicious food and had just begun talking when James looked up at something behind Hermione back. Lily, Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene were standing behind her. This was the first time that Hermione had a chance to get a good look at Marlene- and she was beautiful. Marlene had curly blonde hair and tanned skin, and she had a tall frame while still maintaining the curves most women dreamt of having.

"Morning Evans," he said.

"Potter," Lily said back.

"Good morning. Do you guys want to sit with us?" Hermione asked. Lily looked unsure at this, but took a seat next to Hermione and the other girls followed.

Hermione turned towards the boys and they were all looking at her with a look of unbelieving.

"What's wrong with you guys? Did someone _confundo_ you?" Hermione joked.

"You got Lily Evans to sit within ten feet of James Potter," Peter explained.

"Oh, that's never happened before?"

"Never- well, not since first year when he switched her teacup for a nose-biting one," Remus said.

Hermione looked at James, who was sitting across from her, than to Lily who was talking away with Mary, and back to James. "Don't screw it up. Don't ask her out, don't compliment her, and only speak to her when necessary. No- scratch that. Only talk to her when it's appropriate to the conversation," Hermione whispered. James nodded his head with his eyes wide, taking in everything that Hermione was telling him.

"So Lily, what classes are you taking?" Hermione asked.

"All the core ones- Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, History of Magic, Herbology and Astronomy- but I'm also taking Arithmancy and Ancient Runes."

"I'm taking all of those as well," Hermione said. Hoping for a chance to join the two groups around her into one, she asked the boys what they were taking for classes.

"Defense, Charms, Transfiguration, Potions, Herbology and Astronomy- but I'm also taking Divination and Care of Magical Creatures," James answered.

"Same as James here, except for Divination it's Muggle Studies," Sirius said.

"Really, why muggle studies?" Hermione asked.

"Because, being a pureblood, I don't really know much about them, but I'm fascinated. Also to piss my mum off," he added. "I would love to be able to see the look in her face when she finds out that I received an N.E.W.T. in Muggle Studies."

Hermione knew that Sirius had a very complicated relationship with his family, but needed to pretend otherwise.

"Your mother doesn't like muggles?" Hermione asked.

"I was raised in one of those pureblood mania families where they think the right thing to do is for wizards to control the world and have muggles as whimpering servants. And as a member of the Most Noble and Ancient House of Black, we would be considered just about royalty," he said with a sullen look. He quickly realized that he was talking to someone who didn't really know him all that well and added "But I don't think that way. It's the reason I left."

"You ran away from home," Lily asked suddenly.

"Yeah, over the summer- I had about had it. Mum saw my O.W.L. results and didn't like that I received an O in Muggle Studies. Some… stuff happened and I packed my bags. I've been living at the Potters ever since," he said.

Lily looked at James with a new found softness in her eyes. Hermione wondered if Lily was feeling sympathy for the young Black boy because of the troubles that Lily had at her own home with her sister.

"It was really nice of you to let him live with you," Lily said.

"There was no other choice. I would always help a friend in need, and he's more like a brother to me," he said with an intense look in his eyes when he stared back at Lily. He softened them after a minute and added with a chuckle "Plus, I'm pretty sure my mum loves him more than me."

"Oh there's no doubt about it, I'm Mrs. P's favorite now," Sirius said with a huge smile. It was obvious how much he loved his new found mother figure, and Hermione felt her heart tug. If anyone deserved a little extra love in their life, it was Sirius Black.

Professor McGonagall came around and handed them their timetables and she saw that the first thing they had was double Transfiguration.

Sirius looked up suddenly, and said to other three "Yes, first thing. Come one guys, we have to set everything up while she is still distracted." Then he turned and put his hand on the small of Hermione's back to get her attention. "We have to go- important Marauders business. Walk up to class with Lily and the girls, okay?"

Hermione narrowed her eyes, and she had a feeling she knew what this was about, but what was she going to do. She nodded her head and rolled her eyes. The four boys jumped up and ran towards the staircase. Hermione didn't want to notice the slight tingle on her back where Sirius had just removed his hand.

"Do I want to know?" Lily dared to ask.

"No, but you will find out shortly. I think it's something to do with McGonagall's class," Hermione explained.

Lily had a devious smile on her face. "Oh, good. I know it's horrible, but I do love to watch her yell at them!"

The girl finished eating and made their way to their first class, and when Hermione looked down to the bottom of the door, she knew she was right. There was a small square cut out of the bottom of the door with a flap on it that had paw prints on it. Hermione looked at the four girls and pointed to the kitty door. All of them had to fight to hold in their giggles.

Shaking her head, she walked inside to see the boys sitting in the middle row of the classroom, just staring at the door.

"You really needed to do that on the first day back," Hermione asked.

"Hell yeah! You're the one who gave us the idea," James said.

Lily gave Hermione a questioning look.

"It was an accident. I didn't tell them to do it," Hermione explained as here and Lily walked over to the front row, right in front of the Marauders.

Lily leaned over to Hermione and said "I hate the fact that I think this one is so funny."

Hermione smiled, and started unpacking her things. The classroom was steadily filling up and soon they were just waiting for Professor McGonagall. The door opened and she walked in.

"Good morning everyone- today will be a refresher class. Before we begin I want to make sure that everyone has their books," she looked around to check that everyone had the required text.

Hermione chanced a look behind her and saw that all of the Marauders faces were cast in disappointment. McGonagall hadn't said anything about the new addition to her classroom. Whether it was because she hadn't noticed or because she didn't want to give them the satisfaction of getting to her on the first day, Hermione didn't know. But what she did know was that if the Marauders didn't get what they wanted, they would keep going until they did.

"Last year we worked on Vanishing spells. I would like to revisit that today, only this time we will be using nonverbal spells," Professor McGonagall explained. She went on to explain the importance of nonverbal spells, and the proper way to insure success in using them.

While everyone around her was busily taking notes, Hermione was feeling a little bit more relaxed. She was taking a few notes, but not up to her usual standard. She had already mastered this two years ago, so she gave herself a little bit of a break.

Suddenly, all of the legs of the stools were being transfigured into scratching posts, there were small kitty toys with bells inside rolling around on the floor, and there was yarn hanging down from the ceiling everywhere you looked. Professor McGonagall tried to carry on with the lesson, but she lost it when she looked down and saw a red and gold cat collar with little black paw prints was sitting on top of her book.

"Really, I can't get through one class without these ridiculous interruptions. Potter, Black, Lupin, and Pettigrew, five points from Gryffindor- each- and detention tomorrow night. I can't believe…in and N.E.W.T. class… troublesome boys… cat toys, really…" McGonagall was mumbling to herself.

"You forgot about the cat door," Sirius added with a winning smile.

McGonagall's mouth twitched, and then she simply stared at him as if daring to say another word to interrupt her classroom. When she had broken the stare, she waved her wand once and everything was back the way it was- except for the kitty door, but she was hoping no one noticed that (they did).

The rest of the class passed uneventfully, with the rest of the Gryffindor's earning back the points that the Marauders had lost. When class was over, everyone packed up their things and headed to the library. They had a free period before lunch and everyone was anxious to get the essay that McGonagall had assigned for them out of the way.

The group squeezed a couple of tables together and started to work. Having such a large group all working on the same assignment meant that it was easy to ask questions get advice on certain things. Everyone had finished before they left for lunch.

After lunch Remus, Hermione, Lily, and Dorcas all went to Arithmancy, while everyone else (except for Remus) went to Care of Magical Creatures, and after that they all met in the dungeons for potions.

Hermione was secretly excited for potions, because they were going to have it with the Slytherins. She didn't know whether or not Snape was going to take her seriously or not about sitting together, but Hermione had every intention of reminding him.

By the time they arrived, there were only a couple of minutes before class was to start. The group of Gryffindors all made to sit on one side of the classroom, because the Slytherin's had taken over the other side. When she walked in, Hermione noticed that Snape was sitting at a table by himself with his nose in his book, scribbling away. Smiling to herself, she headed over to the empty spot next to him.

"Hermione, we have a seat for you over here," Mary offered. When Mary had said her name, Snape looked up.

Hermione shook her head. "I've already made plans to sit with Severus," she explained. She knew the repercussions of saying those words in the vicinity of so many Gryffindor's and Slytherin's, but it didn't make the stares any less uncomfortable.

Lily looked worried and uncomfortable, Mary looked confused, Dorcas' mouth dropped open, Marlene rolled her eyes, and all four of the Marauder boys simply glared at Snape.

Hermione walked over to the desk and started taking out her things.

"You know, if it's going to cause an issue with your… friends- you don't have to sit with me," Snape said.

"It's not a problem. Plus, if they're truly my friends they will respect my decision about who I chose to _be_ my friends," Hermione said.

"So we're…friends," Snape said unenthused optimism.

"Yes, you've been very clear about your desire to be friends. You practically forced me to let you help me with my trunk on the platform, than you _begged_ me to save you a seat if we had a class together, and now you have demanded that we be potions partners from here to eternity. You really need to hold back all of those happy-gooey-friendship-feelings," Hermione said in a mock teasing voice.

Snape's lips curled up in smile that reached all the way to his eye this time, and turned to look at her properly.

"I'm demanding that we partners from here to eternity?" He asked.

"See, you just said it. Now that it's settled, how is your first day back going," Hermione said.

Snape actually let out a little chuckle at this, and told her how his day had been. They didn't get too much further before Professor Slughorn entered the room announcing everyone to gather around a cauldron at the front of the room.

"Alright, class, today we are going to start on quite a challenging note. Can anyone tell me before we start brewing, what the potion is in this cauldron," Slughorn asked.

Hermione looked into the cauldron, just like everyone else, and was almost confused about why it looked like a pot of water. However, she knew what potion was in there, and even though it barley took her a second to recover from her bout of confusion- Snape's hand was already in the air.

"Mr. Snape," Slughorn called.

"It's Veritaserum- the truth potion. It's colorless and odorless," he answered.

"Correct! Five points to Slytherin. Now, can anyone tell me why this potion is so difficult to brew," Slughorn said. Lily's hand flew into the air.

"Miss. Evans," Slughorn said.

"It's because it takes one full lunar phase, or roughly 28 days, to brew the potion," she explained.

At this, Hermione let her eyes wonder over towards Remus. He was looking down at his book, pretending to read and be oblivious to what was being said around him. It was a few days before the full moon, and he was starting to look paler every time Hermione looked at him.

"Exactly, Miss. Evans, good work! Yes, excellent way to start off the class- something to get you into the brewing spirit. Today, I would like for you to turn to page 10. You will be brewing the Draught of Living Dead. Now, I have never had a student brew it in the one hour time that will be available to you today, but we will see where we are when time is up. Off you go," Slughorn announced.

Everyone got to work. Hermione looked over at Snape, who was already getting the flame under the cauldron started, so she figured that she would be the one to gather up all of their ingredients. Walking over to the store cupboard, she ran into Lily and Sirius, who were both gathering their own ingredients.

"Hermione, do you know what you are doing," Lily asked.

"I'm looking for Sopophorous beans. Why, am I doing it wrong," Hermione joked.

"Yeah, why are you sitting with Snivellus," Sirius sneered.

Hermione glared at him. "Why, are you jealous," Hermione teased.

Sirius didn't say anything, but his lips moved into a hard line. Lily was the one who answered for him.

"We are just worried for you. The Slytherin's have a tendency to be… aggressive towards Gryffindors. You're new here, and I just want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into," Lily explained.

"Lily should know better than anyone, she used to be best friends with the bloody git until he went and insulted her in front of half the school. Called her-" Sirius said before Hermione interrupted him.

"Look, I really appreciate you guys for looking after me. He seems nice. He helped me with my trunk on the platform and we got to talking. I asked _him_ if we could sit together if we had a class together. Thank you for worrying about me, but I'm fine. Now, if you will excuse me, I can see that the cauldron is ready and we need to get busy," Hermione said and she walked back to her table.

As they got to work, Snape kept looking at her out of the corner of his eyes. Eventually Hermione sighed and look right at him. "Is there something you want to ask me?"

"No," he answered. "I just don't want to be responsible for you being on the outs with your friends. I also don't want to be _blamed_ for you being on the out with your friends," he answered stiffly.

"Everything is fine. I told them I wanted to work with you. It's my idea. And if they bother you, then they have me to answer too," Hermione replied.

"You know, there are not a lot of people who would willingly go up against the Marauders," he warned her.

"I'm not going up against anyone. If they have a problem with who I chose to be friends with, then that's their problem. And it _will_ be their problem. I can handle myself and they're just going to have to get used to it," she said.

Snape face softened for a moment, but only for a moment, because then it was back to his passive mask. He looked down at the beans she was cutting and said "You know you're supposed to cut the beans, not crush them. If you want to fool around that's your business, but I take this class seriously."

Hermione smiled to herself for two reasons. She saw the look that he gave her, and her heart swelled. She was getting somewhere, and it felt triumphant. The second reason she smiled was because she had watched Harry make this potion before when he had the Half-Blood Prince's book, and while she was infuriated that he was doing so much better than her and he was following written instruction in a book, that didn't mean she didn't take notes.

"I don't doubt it; I can see that you have a talent for it. And I'm not fooling around-see? If you crush them like this, it releases more juice. See, look," she showed him.

Snape looked at her in amazement, grabbed a quill, and started writing in his book.

"Are you writing that down," she questioned.

"Yes, I like to document changes I make to potions. Things that make them easier, tips and shortcuts," he said. When he put down his quill, he started to stir the potion, seven times anticlockwise, and then once clockwise. Hermione knew what he was doing, and why he was doing it, but knew she should act otherwise.

"What are you doing? We're not supposed to stir clockwise," she said.

"Look," he said. It was the most beautiful shade of lilac. "Looks like you're not the only one with tricks."

"You should teach," Hermione said suddenly.

"What?"

"I said, you should be a potions teacher," she said seriously. She didn't know where it came from, considering she didn't really like him as a teacher when she had him, but when you got to know him a little bit more Severus Snape was really easy to talk to. If he could learn to loosen up a little bit, he would make just as good a potions teacher as Remus did a Defense teacher. "You have great instincts, and you take advice well. You know what's important and how to communicate your ideas. I think your bedside manner could use a bit of work, but you would make a great teacher."

"You're not the first person to tell me that," he said quietly.

"I'm not? Who else told you that," Hermione asked.

"Someone who used to be a friend," he answered a little coldly.

Hermione didn't know if she should bring up the subject, but she summoned her Gryffindor courage and asked "Was it Lily?"

Snape gave a curt nod. It was clear that the rift between him and Lily was still painful. Hermione didn't know what to say in this moment. It was clear from what she said that she had some idea about what happened between the two former friends, but he wasn't forthcoming with anything else. Hermione decided to change the subject, and figured that if he wanted to talk about it, he would.

"Do you know if there is a Hogsmeade visit scheduled any time soon?"

Snape seemed to relax at the change in subject. "There is usually one the weekend before Halloween," he said.

"Good to know. My aunt owns the Three Broomsticks so I go down on weekends and help her out. I'll make sure that I'm not working that weekend so I can enjoy it," she answered.

Snape's eyes widen and his face colored a bit. "Your aunt is Madam Rosmerta," he asked.

"What is it with all of the blokes in this place having the hots for her? Is it because she had access to the firewhiskey?" Hermione joked.

Snape offered a smile, but before he could say anything else, Slughorn was walking towards them to check on their progress.

"Oh, my- would you look at that. I've never in my years of teaching had any students make this potion perfectly! Congratulations, you two. Mr. Snape I knew your talents would allow you to achieve great things, but Miss. Granger, I had no idea. Between the two of you, and Miss. Evans here, we have the makings of some great potioneers," Slughorn said joyfully.

There wasn't much for Hermione and Snape to do for the last few minutes of class; Hermione took a sample of their potion to give to Slughorn while Snape cleaned up their work space. Because they were done so early, they walked out of the classroom before anyone else.

"Are you going up to dinner," Snape asked.

"Yeah, but I'm going to wait for the rest of my friends. Play nice, you know," she said.

"Yeah, I suppose you all have some making up to do," he added with a sour note in his voice.

"Oh no, I don't have anything to make up for. They need to get over themselves if they're truly upset about this," she moved her finger to point at Snape and then back to herself. "But you have to get over it too. This is the last time I hear you question my dedication to this friendship. You can't get rid of me now, and I demand for you to stop using that self-deprecating tone and accept that, you're stuck with me."

Snape rolled his eyes and shook his head at this, but Hermione could see a pleased look behind it all.

"Alright, well I guess I'll see you around," Snape asked in a questioning tone.

"There is no question about it, I'll be here. See you," Hermione said.

Snape stared at her for a moment like he couldn't believe what she was saying, before turning around and walking down the hall toward the stairs.

Hermione didn't have to wait long before the other Gryffindors starting filing out of the classroom. She walked with them out of the room, no one mentioning the fact that she had just spent the whole class period with a Slytherin. The conversation was light- homework that had been assigned, what was for dinner, and upcoming classes.

Dinner went by quickly and before she knew it she was in bed. The evening had been spent in the library with Lily, Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene working on the rest of the homework that had been assigned for them that day. Hermione felt good about getting it out of the way, she hated when it felt like everything was starting to pile up on her. When it started getting late they all walked back up to Gryffindor tower. Hermione spent the remainder of the evening hanging out with the Marauders and playing chess.

It had been a nice day back. Hermione enjoyed her classes, experienced a Marauders prank first hand, made some headway with Snape, and made a good dent in her homework. It was such a nice day that Hermione almost felt guilty for being happy and enjoying the people around her. She missed her friends so much and she knew that they would all want for her to be happy and move on, but a part of her still yearned for the way it was in the future.

With thought of her friends, both past and present, Hermione fell asleep.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** You guy are spoiling me with all your lovely reviews, and therefore I'm spoiling you! I wasn't planning on uploading another chapter for a few more days but I think you deserve. Again, I know there are probably errors all over the place and I'll go back and edit them, but I wanted to put it up because you guys have been so encouraging! Here's chapter 6!

Disclaimer- Nothing of the Harry Potter Universe belongs to me. It all came from the beautiful brain of one J.K. Rowling.

Chapter 6

Hermione woke up early the next morning and it started off just like the day before, except for the fact that Marlene woke up with a lot less prodding this morning. Hermione was looking into her mirror as she used the spell that Rosmerta taught her on her hair, but as she did this she was also listening to the chatter in the room around her. It was nice to be back in a room with other women. She had been on the run with Harry and Ron for so long, and while she wasn't one to join in on all of the gossip, it still offered a little bit of comfort to hear the other girls talk away to each other, just like Lavender and Parvati.

"You know, Marlene- Ryder King is looking fit this year," Dorcas said as she packed her backpack for the day's classes.

"Yeah, I don't know what he did over the summer but it is _working_ for him," Mary agreed from inside her wardrobe.

"Oh, I've noticed. Between him and Black, we've got the best looking beaters of any Quidditch team," Marlene replied.

"You know who else is looking fit this year- Potter," Mary said as she poked her head out to look at Lily.

"Ugh… How do we always have this conversation. Every year it's 'Look how fit Potter got' or 'Ooh, check out Potters arse' or 'Godric, Potter should be on the cover of this year's _Witch Weekly_ most charming smile award'," Lily ranted.

"Hmm… it's interesting how much detail you remember our conversations involving Potter," Dorcas said with a raised eyebrow.

"It's because you guys say the same thing every year! Next, you'll start on Amos Diggory and his pouty lips, and eventually we will make our way to Bertram Aubrey and how you could cut diamonds with his jaw bone, and then you always end in an argument over who Black will take on the first Hogsmeade visit based on whose breasts grew the most over the holiday. Can we skip right to the end, and I'll go with Maxine Collins," Lily ranted.

"No, she started dating Derek Edgecombe this summer. Plus, she's right awful- and if we're going to be spending time with the Marauders this year," Dorcas looked in Hermione's direction at this, "I'd rather not have to deal with her."

Hermione took all this information in, at the same time pretending that she hadn't been listening at all. She really wanted to get to know these girls and be friends, but she also loved spending time with the Marauders too. Hermione hoped she would be able to bridge the two groups together.

When Hermione had finished getting ready and packed her school bag, she walked down to the common room and met up with the Marauders to go to breakfast, and when the rest of the girls arrived in the Great Hall, they all sat and ate together.

It was almost hard for Hermione to believe that this wasn't the way things had previously been before she had arrived. While there were still some moments where the groups were a little at odds with each other, they mostly got on quite well. She smiled to herself as she looked around. She had the boys on her left and the girls on her right- and herself acting as the bridge.

She was taken away from her thoughts by someone saying her name.

"What? Sorry, got lost," she said, looking at Mary.

"I asked you how you came to transfer to Hogwarts. I don't think I've ever heard of someone transferring before," Mary asked again.

Hermione looked down at her lap. She knew that this was a conversation she needed to have at some point, but she didn't like the idea of lying to everyone. Looking back up at everyone, she took a deep breath and began to explain.

"I grew up in England, but moved to France when I was ten. I attended Beauxbatons for my education, but over the summer I needed to move to London and live with my aunt when my parents were killed in a car accident," she said quietly.

Hermione didn't like lying. It was needed or even mandatory in some of the situations that her, Harry and Ron had occasionally got themselves in to (okay, every other day), but she didn't like the idea of deceiving people. When she told her story, she put into it the emotion she felt about losing her parents, family and friends when she traveled back in time.

Suddenly, she felt arms around her, when she looked up she saw a curtain of long black hair surrounding her face and she knew that Sirius trying to comfort her. She hugged him back tightly and stayed like that for a long minute. When they pulled away he gave her a sympathetic look, because he could relate to losing one's family.

She looked around at everyone else and saw them smiling sadly at the gesture. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm okay. I've had time to… accept what has happened, and I love living with my aunt. Actually, would you guys excuse me? I've got a letter to send to her. I'll meet you in Charms."

"Do you want some company," Sirius asked quietly.

Hermione put her hand on his forearm and then slid it down into his hand. "No, but thank you," she said. She tried to pour as much sincerity into the look as she could, and Sirius gave her hand a squeeze in acknowledgement.

Hermione got up and started to head to the Owlery. She climbed the tall staircase that opened up to it, but someone came out as she was walking inside. They physically collided into each other, and because Hermione was so close to the edge of the stairs, she started to wobble backwards. Her hands instantly went out in order to balance herself, and she felt a hand enclose around her wrist and pull her away from the deadly fall. But, the force of the pull propelled her forwards- completely taking out the person who had tried to help her.

In a mess of black robes and feathers, both parties tried to untangle themselves. They each started to brush themselves off and when Hermione looked up, she was startled to see a boy with a very familiar face.

"Are you alright?" the boy asked.

"Yes, thank you. I've heard about the rivalry between our houses, but this is the second time I've been saved by someone from Slytherin," she joked. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but you're Regulus, right?"

Regulus took a step back and his face immediately turned hard. "To Gryffindors, I'm usually only know as a Slytherin git, or Sirius's brother," he baited her.

"Well, you just saved me from a world of pain, and then didn't even complain when I knocked you to the floor. Slytherin git would just add insult to my _almost_ injury. And as for Sirius's brother, it's true that you're family, but that's not your whole identity." She said with a shrug.

He looked at her without quite believing what she was saying, but his shoulders seemed to relax a bit. Looking her up and down, he asked "You're the new girl, right?"

"Yeah, but I don't answer to 'new girl'. I will, however, answer to Hermione Granger," she added as she walked into the Owlery and attached her letter to the leg of a small brown owl.

Regulus nodded his head in acknowledgement. The next few moments where quiet while Hermione finished her task. When the owl flew off, she looked back to see him giving her a questioning look.

"What," she asked

"You said you were saved by two Slytherins," he said.

"Yeah, Severus helped me avoid further injury by loading my trunk onto the train. He also helped me when he saved a seat in potions for me," she said, waiting to gauge his reaction.

"He did? He didn't mention it," Regulus said.

"Well, I haven't been here very long- two days in fact- but Severus Snape doesn't seem the type to holler through the corridors "I'VE MADE A NEW FRIEND'." She said with a laugh.

Regulus's mouth turned up into a small smile and said "No, he doesn't."

Hermione walked back towards the staircase and then turned around to look at him. "You know, with as much trouble as I have gotten myself into lately, I should probably have an escort down the stairs," she said with a joking expression on her face.

"Oh really? Only if you promise not to _fall_ for me," he said teasingly and offered him his arm.

Hermione beamed and accepted it. She was having a great time talking with Regulus. He was similar to his brother in a lot of ways, but he didn't give her the butterflies like Sirius did.

They walked down the stairs until they reached the main part of the castle again.

"I've got Charms," Hermione said.

"Potions," Regulus said.

"Well, I'll see you around," she said with a wave and headed off. She looked back behind her and saw him still staring at her- and for the life of her she didn't know why she said it. Maybe _because_ he was so much like Sirius, or because he had been willing to tease her so easily, but she hollered back to her "Stop looking at my arse!"

He turned bright pink and laughed. The sound of his laughter provoked a chuckle from Hermione as well.

When she reached Charms, she saw that her friends had already arrived, and Sirius and Remus and saved a seat for her in between them. She took it, and started to unload her stuff. James was talking with Sirius about the upcoming Quidditch Tryouts.

"Just talked with McGonagall and we have the pitch reserved for Sunday morning. I've put up a sign up sheet in the common room for tryouts last night, I'm only trying out for two positions and there's already 12 names put down," James was explaining.

"Which positions do you need to fill?" Hermione asked.

"Just seeker and a keeper, and it's my first year being captain, so there's a lot of pressure to get the perfect team together," James said.

Marlene turned around at this and said "Hey, Captain, I've been meaning to tell you that Mann says he's finally ready to try out this year."

"Oh wicked, he's a fourth year, right?" James asked.

"Yeah, and he spent the whole summer practicing," Marlene said with a proud smile.

"Who's Mann," Hermione asked.

"Marlene's younger brother. Marlene's on the team- chaser. Her brother loves Quidditch but has been too nervous to try out," Sirius explained.

"And you're on the team too," she inferred.

"Yeah, he's a beater on the team," James replied.

"And in real life," Peter muttered from the other side of Remus.

"Too right you are, Wormy." Sirius laughed.

"I've been meaning to ask, what is it with all of the animal jokes?" Hermione asked.

She knew the answer to the question, but they had slipped enough of them by her that she couldn't ignore it any longer.

"That, Miss. Granger, is the-"but he was cut off before he could answer.

"-Mystery of the Marauders," the four girls in front of them answered. Hermione snorted with laughter.

"Don't bother to ask, Hermione. I've been asking them for a couple of years now and they still won't spill." Mary said.

"They will only ever answer with that," Dorcas added.

"And if I know them, I don't think I want to find out," Lily said.

"We took a Marauders oath to never tell," James said.

"You're serious?" Hermione asked.

Peter couldn't hold in his laughter at this statement, and then looked at the confused expression on Hermione face. "Oh, I forget that you're new here. He's not serious," and said, pointing at James. "He is," he finished pointing at Sirius.

Hermione rolled her eyes when Sirius barked with laughter. His laugh had similar qualities in it as his brothers, but Sirius's was deeper sounder, like it was coming for from the gut. Flitwick called everyone to attention at this point, and class began.

When classes finished for the day Hermione and everyone went down to dinner. The Marauders needed to eat quickly because they had detention with McGonagall that evening.

The girls went to the library for a few hours to get started on their homework. They didn't stay too long because it was Friday night, and even though it had been a short week, they were all exhausted.

When they got back from the library they went down to the common room to relax, each girl choosing her own activity. Marlene had her charms book out in front of her and was charming her toenails different colors; Dorcas was catching up on the latest issue of _Witch Weekly_ and was holding it out and slightly above her so that Mary could see it while she practiced braiding Dorcas's hair, and Lily was snuggled up on the couch, embraced by the quiet.

"But, it says that I need to take the right piece and add more too it, but then switch places with the middle strand and I don't have enough hands to do this," Mary said in an anxious voice.

"Look at the picture and hold your hands the way she does," Dorcas offered.

"I can't because if move my fingers it will all fall apart," Mary whined.

"You could just use a spell and levitate the hair," Marlene said from the couch. She had just charmed her toenails to change color every 5 minutes. Right now they were a periwinkle blue.

"Good idea," Mary said. She reached for her wand but when she let go all of the hair fell down and unwrapped itself.

"UGH! Why is this so hard," Mary said to herself.

Hermione smiled at herself. She had been enjoying her time with the girls, but was getting a bit bored. She had been using the time to read ahead in her History of Magic textbook, but just couldn't bring herself to be interested. She got up and headed to her dorm room to grab a different book. She reached the little shelf just to the side of her bed, looking for her copy of _Little Women_ when she heard a male voice coming from somewhere in the dormitory.

Standing still, she listened for the voice again. When she heard it, it somehow sounded different. She followed the voice until she was standing right in front of her bedside table. Opening one of the drawers, she followed the voice and picked up her beaded bag. Extremely confused at this point, when she opened the strings to the bag the voices instantly became clearer- she had been hearing two different voices! She stuck her hand in the bag and dug around until she found the source.

Hermione's hand grazed against something cold and sharp, and pulled her hand back with a wince. She had cut her finger on whatever was down there. Furrowing her brows, she grabbed a piece of cloth from the drawer to wrap her finger up in, and put her hand inside once more, making sure to be more careful. She dug around until she found the offending object. When she pulled it out she stifled a gasp at what she was looking at.

It was the shard of glass that Hermione had found on the floor in Dumbledore's office. It was from the mirror that Sirius had given to Harry. Sirius must have given him James' old mirror because Hermione was looking at the forehead and eye of Sirius Black- and she could hear them talking!

"Nahh… shouldn't be too bad. McGonagall really needs some new ideas for these detentions. I've cleaned these trophies so many times I bet I could tell you what every single one of them was for," Sirius was saying.

Then Hermione heard another voice coming from the mirror that did not belong to Sirius.

"Well I think Slughorn is. I'm sifting through piles of flobberworms," the voice said. That voice had to belong to James!

How was she able to hear them? She knew that the shard of glass still worked in her time because Harry was able to see Aberforth's eye in it from time to time. Maybe it's like a magical signal? It's picking up the signal of the mirror that it used to belong to.

"That's rough, mate. Hey, what did you think about Hermione asking us about our nicknames today? She's only been here two days and she's already asking. We've got to be more careful," Sirius said, well….seriously.

"Yeah, I talked with Remus about it earlier, and he said the same thing. That girl is smart, and if we're not careful she could easily figure it out," James' voice replied.

"Mmhmm," he nodded. "But we've got to do it without pulling away from her. She's been through a lot, you know? Losing her parents and everything- I know what that's like, and even though she says that she likes living with her aunt, it's still a lot to handle," Sirius said.

"I'm worried that's why she's trying to make nice with everyone, even the Slytherins. She needs to be careful around Snape, and I didn't tell you earlier, but I heard she was spotted talking with Regulus today," James' voice explained.

Sirius' eye hardened for a moment, and then softened. "I don't want to jump to conclusions. Maybe she was asking for directions to a classroom. I'll try to talk to her about it. You should have seen her reaction when Lily and I tried to talk to her about sitting with Snivellus, she wouldn't hear a word about it. I'm not going to make the same mistake twice, but I don't want her to get hurt," he said.

"Aww, Padfoot- do you fancy our new Gryffindor?" James asked with hint of amusement.

Hermione went pink and those words and she saw a little hint of pink in Sirius's complexion.

"I dunno, Prongs. She smart and beautiful and kind- way out of my league- but I like the way she challenges me. She's different than other girls. I don't know if I would say I fancy her, but I'm definitely interested." he answered.

"So, the big question is- Are you going to invite her to the first Hogsmeade visit?" James asked.

"I dunno yet. I thought about it, but then did you see Maxine Collins in Charms yesterday?" Sirius said with knowing hint to his voice.

"Yeah Pads, I did. I don't know how that happens in just two months- but didn't you hear? She started seeing that Edgecombe bloke over the summer," James told him.

"Really- Oh well, maybe the next one," Sirius said.

James just laughed. "Okay, I gotta go. Map says that Slughorn's on his way back down. Meet in the kitchen when you get out?"

"Yeah, I'll be there," Sirius said, and suddenly the only thing she saw in the mirror was her own reflection.

 _Well that was unexpected_ Hermione thought. Shaking it off, she realized that she had been up here too long and one of the other girls were bound to come up here looking for her. Putting a Silencing spell on the mirror shard, she tucked it under a bit of spare parchment in the drawer, grabbed her book, and went back downstairs.

She pretended to read for about a half an hour, but didn't really get anywhere. Her mind was still on the conversation she had overheard.

She said an early goodnight and went back up to the dormitories. She changed into her pajamas and got into bed to do some deep internal dissecting.

First, the Marauders are worried about her asking questions. She didn't want to push them away by being to nosy, but at the same time she wanted to tell them that she knew everything and have no secrets between them. Well, except for the fact that she's a time traveling witch who is here to make sure that they all don't die, betray the ones that love them, and end up living sad and dangerous lives.

The second thing she thought of was the fact that they didn't like her being friendly with the Slytherins. Hermione knew that Sirius especially had a dislike (and that was a subtle word) for Slytherins, but she had a job to do. When she had bumped into Regulus, it was like something in her head clicked, and another piece of the puzzle fit. She was going to save Regulus, too. And if she could manage it (she wasn't putting _too_ much stock in this) she would try to reunite the brothers. Snape, on the other hand would be more difficult. A lot more difficult, but she would think on that later.

And lastly, she thought that about what Sirius had said. He said he was interested in her. What did _that_ mean? Hermione didn't exactly know what her feelings were towards him yet, but she knew that she felt safe when she was with him, and that was something that didn't come by easily. Hermione didn't know if it was just something about him, or if it was the fact that she knew him in the future like she did. She trusted Remus and she felt safe with him too, but it was different. She didn't like feeling so unsure.

There was also the fact that she still had the Time-Turner. Dumbledore didn't tell her whether or not she was supposed to come back. Thinking about this, she opened her drawer again and pulled out the beaded bag. Being careful this time, she reached around until she found the Time-Turner. It looked just like it did before she had used it, the sand still brilliantly white. Was she expected to come back? If she did her mission and took down Voldemort for good the first time, things would ultimately be different when she went back. Would it make things worse if she went back?

She made a note to herself to go to the library to look for time travel books, before she fell into an uneasy sleep.

Hermione's eye flew open as she jolted out of her bed, panting. _It was just a nightmare_ she told herself. She had been dreaming that she was back at Malfoy Manor, when Bellatrix Lestrange had finished torturing her, she was given to Greyback. He smiled down at her with his long pointed teeth, leaning in towards her…

Hermione's breath hitched when she thought about the dream, and it took her a few minutes of deep breathing to calm down. She lay back down, but the lingering presence of her dream didn't allow her to relax. Sighing to herself, she flipped open the covers, grabbed a book and headed down to the common room. When she reached the bottom of the stairs she realized that she wasn't the only one down there.

Sirius Black was sitting on one of the couches in front of the fire, staring intensely into it. He didn't hear when Hermione walked up beside the couch.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said.

Sirius jumped in surprise. Turning to look at her, he said "Yeah, the boys and I hit the kitchens after detention. I needed a little bit of down time before I went up to bed."

"Do you want to be alone?" she asked.

"No, you can stay. How come you're awake- couldn't sleep?" He asked.

"No, I slept," she answered. He stared at her as if to say _then why are you here_ and she caved.

"Nightmare," Hermione confessed.

Sirius nodded his head in understanding and said "Come here," while patting his lap.

Hermione gave him an appalled look. "I'm not sitting on your lap," she said.

Sirius gave an exasperated sigh. "Just come here," he said.

She walked over and sat next to him. He pulled her down so that her head was resting in his lap and he started stroking her head. As soon as she realized what was happening, she melted into his touch and felt all of the lingering fears about her dream fall away.

"I know we said that the Marauder secrets stay only with the Marauders, but I'll let you in on one. Whenever one of us has a bad dream, this is what always helps us calm down. James did it to me first year when I had one about… well about home. Anyway, it became a…thing. Then in third year I woke up to hear Remus having a nightmare and I did this to comfort him - and since then it's been a Marauder secret," he explained.

"Thank you for sharing with me," Hermione said softly.

They stayed in silence for a long time, just enjoying each other's company and being comforted by the sounds of the ticking clock and the crackle of the fire. Finally, it was Sirius who spoke first.

"Can I ask you something," he said.

"No," Hermione answered.

"No?" Sirius questioned.

"No, I just want to enjoy this moment a little longer before we go to bed, and whatever you ask could either overshadow it, or ruin it, and I don't want either to happen. So, no- don't ask me anything. It can wait until tomorrow," she said. Hermione felt Sirius nodding his head, and stayed quiet like she asked.

At long last Hermione sat up and looked at Sirius.

"Thank you for...this," she said a bit awkwardly.

Sirius looked like he wanted to ask her another question, whether it was the same one from earlier or a different one, but he refrained. The only thing he said was "Good Night" when Hermione started back up the stairs to the girl dormitories.


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N:** Hey guys, it's been a few days since I've updated and I'm ready to give you more! This story is moving slowly, but it's because I'm trying to be through. I promise it will move along here in a little bit, but I like the set up. I like to see the characters develop and get a feel for the relationships between them. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this. Maybe review and tell me what you like about it, I want to keep you guys in mind while I'm writing. Also, it's really hard to write the way that Hagrid talks, so hang in there with it! Thanks for reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I have no claim to any of it. I do claim to have fantastic hair braiding skills and no one can take that away from me.

Chapter 7

The next day Hermione slept in a lot later than he usually did. When she woke up, she realized that if she didn't leave in the next three minutes, breakfast was going to be over. Quickly changing her clothes and throwing up hair up into a top knot with a headband, she ran down the stairs and out of the common room. She made it as far as the entrance hall when she saw Sirius coming toward her with a plate of toast and some pumpkin juice.

"Hey, I saw that you weren't at breakfast and I knew you were up late last night, so I thought I would bring some up," he said with self-conscious smile.

"Thank you," Hermione said gratefully and took the toast and juice.

"Sorry, I know you usually prefer tea with breakfast but I wasn't sure exactly how you took it, so I figured the pumpkin juice would be safer," he said quickly.

Hermione stared at him, amazed that he knew that much about her in the short amount of time that he knew her. Fighting down a blush, she said "I usually just put milk in it."

"Ahh… well now I know for next time," he said with a wink, looking like himself again.

Hermione rolled her eyes at this and said "Weren't you up late too? How come you're up this early?"

They started walking up the stairs slowly, not really caring where they were going.

"I'm used to running on little sleep," he answered, thinking about the nights of the full moon.

Hermione _also_ knew what he was thinking of, but decided not to comment. She was trying to find a healthy balance of asking questions and respecting the secrets of their friendship.

"So, can I ask you a question now?" Sirius prompted.

"It depends on the question," she said, looking at him from the corner of her eye. "Because if it's about Severus-"

"I don't have any questions about _him,_ " Sirius all but spat out. "But while we're on the subject, please be careful. I just don't want to see you get hurt."

"Message received, and moving on," Hermione said.

"Okay, how about Regulus," he said slowly.

Hermione looked at him with narrow eyes. "You moved from talking about one Slytherin to another," she said.

"I know where he comes from- where I came from- but I'm different! He listens to all of that pureblood mania crap that comes from our parents and eats it up. He's a Death Eater in training and I don't want you getting mixed up in it, it's dangerous," he said loudly.

"Then how do you explain that he all but saved my life yesterday," Hermione asked suddenly.

"He, what?" Sirius questioned.

"Yeah, we bumped into each other and I was going to fall down the stairs when he caught me," Hermione explained.

Sirius looked thoughtful at this information. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts of it. "So even if he did save you, his friends won't. He hangs out with Avery and Mulciber. You want to know what they're like, ask Mary what Mulciber did to her," Sirius sneered.

Hermione took a deep breath to calm the anger she was feeling. Looking back at Sirius, she simply said "It sounds like we have a difference of opinions, and let's just leave it at that. Anything else you want to talk about- _besides_ anyone from the Slytherin house."

Sirius looked frustrated, but accepted the olive branch she was offering. He didn't want to get into an argument with her, but there was no way that he was letting this go yet. Taking a breath, he asked her about France.

"What do you miss the most about it?"

"My friends," Hermione said immediately. "I miss my parents, of course, but thinking about the things that I left behind, it's my friends."

"Tell me about them."

"Well, my best friends I met my first year at school. We didn't get on at first, they thought I was a know-it-all, and I was then. I heard them saying something about me on Halloween and I locked myself in the bathroom and cried. What I didn't know was at that time a troll had managed to get loose in the school. They came to find me and make sure I was okay, but the troll had found me first. They managed knock it out and save my life." Hermione said all of this with a smile on her lips.

"What? They took down a troll as first years?" Sirius looked impressed.

"Yeah, they were really something. After that, we were the best of friends. Harry was brave and always stood up for people who couldn't stand up for themselves, and Ron was a bit quirky, and could have a bit of a temper, but never failed to make me laugh. He had a sister that I was really close with. She could send a Bat-Bogey Hex like I've never seen. Luna too- she was one of those are people who always saw the good in everyone, and always made you feel like you were the most important person to her. And there was Neville, who would forget everything, but was as sweet as can be," Hermione reminisced. She was fighting a battle of conflicting emotions as she told Sirius about her friends. She was telling him about happy memories and things that would usually bring a smile to her face, but saying it aloud was harder for her than she thought.

"Sounds like you surrounded yourself with good people," Sirius commented.

"Yeah, I did," Hermione said. Her voice was small at this point, and it was taking some effort for her to keep the moisture from leaking out of the corners of her eyes. She casually brought the sleeve of her cardigan up to her face to brush away the tears. She thought she did it in a nonchalant way, but she wasn't fooling anyone.

"Are you okay? I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you upset," he said uncomfortably.

"I'm okay, it's just hard to- admit, I guess, that I won't be seeing them every day in school like I used to. I've tried really hard to keep moving and stay busy, but… I don't know. I guess when I was thinking about them it just hit me how much I miss them," she explained.

"Yeah, I understand that. It's… soul crushing to feel like you have to move on while also leaving someone that you love behind," he said solemnly.

Hermione nodded her head, not trusting her voice to talk at that moment.

"Do you want to talk about something else?" He asked her hesitantly.

"No, it's hard to face the fact that I miss them and I won't see them, but it feels good to share my old friends with my new friends. They are wonderful people and… they should be talked about," Hermione told him.

"Okay, so we talked about your friends. Any boyfriends?" Sirius said with a quirked eyebrow.

Hermione actually let out a laugh at this. The fact that she was talking about this with Sirius was one thing, but after the conversations she had overheard last night- it was too much. She turned to him and gave him an amused smile, all the while thinking about how to answer his question. She was going to tell him the truth, but why not make him sweat a little in the process. "There was one guy I went to a school dance with, he was the big Quidditch star at the school, but it never would have led anywhere," she answered.

"Really- why didn't you want to date a Quidditch player," he asked with a hint of uneasiness.

"It's not becauset he played Quidditch, I like Quidditch. Actually, Harry played it at school, and he was a great seeker." She said.

"It sounds like he should have transferred here as well- James is looking for a new seeker." Sirius added.

Hermione found this funny, because Harry would have loved nothing more than to play Quidditch with his father. "Harry was extremely talented. He never lost a game if he could help it. One time he jumped off his broom to catch the snitch, and caught it in his mouth," Hermione said proudly.

"Wicked," Sirius said with his eye wide, extremely impressed. "So, if it wasn't because of Quidditch, why didn't you guys work out?"

"We just didn't have enough in common to talk about. He was more of a…physical being," she said with a little bit of a purr in her voice at the end.

Sirius scowled. Hermione held in a laugh, and changed the subject.

The day was passed by very pleasantly. Her, Lily and Mary walked down to the Black Lake and worked on homework in the sunshine. When they went inside, they saw that there was an intense game of Exploding Snap being played, and they eagerly joined in. After dinner they all hung out in the common room, talking about anything and everything. The boys were excited about the Quidditch tryouts tomorrow, and truth be told, so was Hermione.

She had seen Harry fly hundreds of times, but she eagerly wanted to see how James flew. She had also see Harry captain the Gryffindor Quidditch team and wanted to see if that was where Harry got his leadership skills.

Hermione was also excited to go visit Hagrid. She had made plans with him to stop by after the try outs to have tea and discuss her first few days at Hogwarts.

Everyone turned in early that evening in order to be rested for the following day.

When Hermione went down to the common room the next morning she didn't run into the Marauders like she normally did, so she walked down to breakfast on her own. When she reached the Gryffindor table she saw them sitting about half way down. Sirius, Remus, and Peter were all talking amongst themselves, while James was sitting with his arms on the table and his head resting on them. Hermione went over and sat next to him.

"Quidditch blues," she asked while pouring herself some tea.

"Yeah, he's worried he will be a bloody awful captain and lead the team into chaos and ruin," Remus explained.

James looked up, scowled at Remus, and then put his head back down. Hermione took a couple pieces of toast with marmalade and put them on the plate in front of James.

"You will be great, James. You're very knowledgeable about the sport, you have a passion for it, and you have great leadership qualities, but are approachable if someone is having an issue. The team is going to love having you as their captain," Hermione said matter-of-factly. James's head lifted a little bit off the table.

"But I've never captained before, what if no one listens to me, or tryouts go horribly wrong," James whined.

"They won't and you will walk away with a fantastic team." Hermione stopped and thought back to Harry's Quidditch tryouts during their sixth year. "However, if you really nervous about how tryouts are going to go think about the basics of Quidditch. What are some of the basic requirements to be able to play Quidditch?" Hermione asked.

"Well, you need to be able to fly," James said.

"Yes, so why don't you start there. The ones who can't fly well will be the first ones to be let go," she offered.

James's eyes lit up. "Great idea Hermione- and then we can work on passing and catching, and then shooting, and then…" James continued to the rest of the boys in between bites of the toast that Hermione had provided for him.

Hermione smiled down at her plate while she ate. If she didn't know any better, she would have thought she was surrounded by the boys from Harry and Ron's dorm while they all talked about Quidditch. While it wasn't her favorite thing to talk about, hearing the boys discuss it gave her a bit of comfort.

The girls from her dorm came down a few minutes later, Marlene dressed in her Quidditch gear and broomstick slung over her shoulder, and they all finished breakfast together. James, Sirius and Marlene left before everyone else, eager to get down to the pitch for a bit of flying before tryouts. A chorus of 'good luck' followed them out of the Great Hall.

The remainder of the group took their time to finish up, and then walk down to the pitch. It was a beautiful sunny day, and Hermione was looking forward to watching some Quidditch high up in the stands with the sun shining down on her. It was a little warm with her cardigan on, but not too uncomfortable.

She missed Quidditch during the last year that they had been on the run. She missed the excitement and the roaring crowd. She missed the nerves that came with an upcoming match, and the euphoria that surged through her when they had won.

Remus, Peter, Lily, Dorcas, Mary and Hermione situated themselves as high up in the stands as they could go in order to cheer on their team. Looking down, she could see James and Sirius standing together, deep in conversation and their arm movements looking a bit wild. She knew some of those motions, and knew they were talking strategy.

In a matter of the next few minutes a huge group of people had gathered on the pitch for the tryouts. Every time more people showed up Hermione could see James grimace. Finally, when it seemed like everyone had arrived, James started shouting directions.

"Alright you lot, we're going to start with the basics. Five laps around the pitch, you make it without falling off or endangering another player, you make it to the next round," James yelled.

Everyone mounted their brooms and off they went. It really was a great idea, because it eliminated a lot of people right off the bat. By the time they had done their five laps, already 11 candidates had been let go. Next they moved onto throwing and catching. If someone missed more than 3 catches, you were gone. That eliminated about 8 more students. By the time that was over, there were only 7 students left.

"Is Marlene's brother trying out?" Hermione asked Lily.

"Yeah, he's the one that's standing next to that tall girl with the green shirt on," Lily pointed out.

Mann McKinnon was a good looking boy of about fourteen. He had blonde hair, like his sister, and it was parted on the side. It wasn't as curly as his sisters though, but he did have her height. They looked to be about the same, and he probably wasn't done growing. _Great build for a seeker_ Hermione thought.

James first tried out the keepers. He had Marlene and his other chaser, Baker Stebbins, try to get goals passed them and the one who made the most saves earned the position. In the end, a fifth year girl named Veronica Smethley was awarded the position. She was long legged and quick on her broomstick.

"I may not like what he does or agree with him all the time, but Potter certainly was made to play Quidditch," Lily commented.

"Have you ever played?" Hermione asked.

"No, I don't like flying," Lily answered.

"Me neither, I think it's something with muggleborns. You learn that your feet are _supposed_ to be on the ground.

"What? You're a muggleborn? How did I not know this," Lily said.

"Yeah, my aunt is a witch, but my mom wasn't. I didn't know what my aunt was until after I was accepted at Beauxbatons. I grew up in a muggle house," Hermione explained.

"Me too! Oh, I'm so excited! There are so many things that I don't get to talk about here because there are so many bloody purebloods! Like pens, dear Godric do I miss pens. Quills are fine and everything, but you have to refill them every other sentence. Why is it that a community of people who can summon things right into their open and waiting hands can't manage a writing utensil that had self-sustaining ink!" Lily rambled.

Hermione laughed at this. It was true, she loved living in the wizarding community, but she also enjoyed when she would go home to her muggle house and live life like she had when she was growing up.

"I know what you mean, I there are a lot of things that I miss about living in a muggle house," Hermione said.

"Well, if you want during one of our vacations you can come and stay with me for a couple of days," Lily offered.

"Really? I would _love_ that! I'll have to ask my aunt about it, but I don't think it would be a problem," Hermione said, beaming at Lily before refocusing her attention to the tryouts.

It was time for the seekers. James had them go one at a time. He would let the snitch go and time them on how long it took them to locate and catch it. In the end, Mann McKinnon earned the spot of seeker on the team.

Hermione and the group walked down onto the pitch to congratulate the new team members, and James on a great first day of captaining.

"James, I told you it would be brilliant! I think you have a really great team this year," Hermione complimented him with a hug.

"Thanks, but it all came down to them. Whoever did the best would earn their position on the team. But I think it ended up alright. The chemistry on the team seems to be working," he turned and looked back at his team. They were all standing together, laughing and talking. It looked like the other beater on the team, Ryder King, had been telling the group a funny story about something involving a trip on the Knight Bus, two missing nifflers, and an accidental run in with some muggle police officers.

When Sirius saw his friends, he broke away from the rest of the team and walked over to them.

"Great job today, Captain! Hermione, did you watch the tryouts," he asked.

"Yeah, too bad you didn't get to play very much. Both of you, actually- I haven't seen you guys fly yet," she said.

"Well there's no time in the present," James said.

"You mean _like_ the present," Hermione corrected.

"Yeah, sure- listen," James pulled Hermione aside and asked "was Evans watching tryouts too," he asked.

"Yeah, we all were. She did comment on what a great job you were doing," Hermione teased.

James went pink. "Really, should I go talk to her," he asked.

"No, just let her be. She came and saw you being fair to everyone and really owning up to the responsibilities of the position. Let that be enough for now," she answered before Sirius cut her off.

"Oi, Captain- we're thinking about playing a little scrimmage game. Remus is in, four on four," he asked.

"Oh, so you just assume and Peter, Lily, Dorcas, Mary and I don't want to play," Hermione said.

"Well, do you want to play?" Sirius asked confusedly.

"No, thank you. I just like to be asked. I don't like being up on those death traps," Hermione said.

"Wait, you don't like to fly?" Sirius said- the expression on his face was one of shock.

"No, I don't. If we were meant to fly through the air, we would have wings," Hermione answered.

"Or, you know, magic," Sirius said sarcastically.

Hermione just glared at him, hating the fact that she didn't have anything good to come back with. Sirius seemed to know that this was what she was thinking, because he gave her a winning smile in return. She turned to Lily and the rest of the girls and asked them if what they wanted to do.

"I want to watch. I know they can be complete gits, but when Potter and Black are playing," Dorcas said as she let out an appreciative sigh, "it's a thing of beauty."

"Yeah, and if we're lucky, maybe they'll have a shirts vs. skins match," Mary added with a grin. "With the way Ryder King looks this year," she started to fan herself, "I don't want to miss this."

"Okay, I'll stay for a few minutes. I promised Hagrid that I would stop over after tryouts and have tea with him," Hermione remembered.

The players split up the teams, James, Ryder, Veronica, and Mann playing against Sirius, Remus, Marlene, and Baker. They flew up into the air and started the match.

Watching James fly was almost too much. From this distance, there were hardly any differences between Harry and his father. They few through the air seamlessly and the only difference between the two is that Hermione had never seen Harry play the position of Chaser.

After a few minutes her attention moved to Sirius. He looked just as cool on a broomstick as he did walking down the hall. There was something very graceful about him, but also extremely masculine. He had used an elastic to pull his hair back out of his eyes and, while she would never admit it to anyone but herself, she found that look to be swoon worthy. Never before did she find long hair attractive, but something about the way Sirius pulled it off made her rethink all of her convictions on this point.

Hermione stayed for about a half an hour before she headed down the stairs and down out of the pitch. The game had been close so far with James' team was ahead by 3 goals. Hermione made her way down the sloping grounds until she reached the little hut on the edge of the forest. She raised her hand and knocked on the large wooded door.

" 's open," called a voice from inside.

Hermione opened the door and made her way inside. "Hi Hagrid," she greeted.

" 'ermione! Come in- come in! 'ow yer doin'?" He asked.

"Great!" Hermione said, and proceeded to talk about her classes for the first couple of days. They enjoyed a cuppa tea, although Hermione refused the rock cakes. It was nice to catch up with an old friend. There were so many things that were different from this time than the future, and it was so comforting to be able to sit with Hagrid and talk like nothing has changed.

They discussed the classes Hermione was taking, the professors, classmates, and then it switched to the magical creatures that Hagrid was currently looking after.

"Got me a 'erd o' Thestrals right now. Need a bit 'o trainin' up but I think I'm upta the challenge," Hagrid explained. "Jus' finished tamin' up a bunch o' Hippogriffs, so Thestrals should be nothin'."

"Really? I think Thestrals are fascinating," Hermione said.

"Yeh should come aroun' some time an' get a look at 'um," he said.

They talked for a little while more, before Hermione admitted that it was getting late and she needed to head up to the castle for dinner and finish up some homework. They said goodbye and she made her way back up to the castle.

She made her way up to Gryffindor tower first to change and see if anyone else wanted to walk down to dinner with her. She walked through the Entrance Hall and was heading to the stairs when she heard someone holler "Hey New Girl!" and she turned to look around.

Heading towards her were three boys wearing Slytherin robes. She didn't know their names, so she labeled them numbers one, two, and three. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face them fully.

"Are you talking to me," she asked nicely.

"Does there look like there are any other new girls around here," number one sneered.

"Well, being a new student I don't actually know who is new and who isn't, but if you need to get my attention in the future, my name is Hermione Granger," Hermione said sweetly.

"Granger, sounds like a mudblood," said number two.

Hermione instinctively rubbed her hand over her scar and frowned. Was this still going on in this time? She had talked with Regulus and Severus easily enough, why were these guys any different.

"Can I help you with anything?" she asked with an edge seeping into her voice.

"Yeah, why have you been hanging around with Black and Snape?" number one asked.

"Which Black," Hermione asked mock innocence.

"Regulus," answered number two.

"Well, we're friends," Hermione said simply.

"Friends? I don't think so. Mudbloods are not worthy of being friends with. They're filthy and will infect anyone around them," number three said with a tone of disgust.

"So that's why you got my attention and walked over here? To tell me that I'm dirty and I'm going to infect you? Not going to lie, I think you could have come up with something better. As for Regulus and Severus, I think they can tell the wrong sorts for themselves," she replied and started to turn away and walk up the stairs.

"Did you blokes just hear the way the mudblood talked to us?" number one questioned and he grabbed her upper arm to turn her around to look at him again.

"You know, I've been pretty calm about this whole thing, and now I've got only three things to say. One, if your theory actually had any merit to it and I could indeed infect you; it's pretty stupid of you to actually touch me. Secondly, I would prefer if you didn't use such language when speaking with me. And third, I'm going to ask you once to let go of me before I do something about it," said Hermione. She looked right into his eyes as she said this and made sure to add every ounce of venom in her voice as she spoke.

Number one squeezed her arm when she had finished speaking until it started to hurt, but then he looked behind her shoulder. He let her go with a shove, and then moved his face close to hers until there were only a few inches between them. "This isn't over," he spat, then turned and walked away. Numbers two and three followed.

Hermione turned around rubbing her arm where number one had squeezed so hard and saw all four of the Marauders standing behind her. She smiled at them and asked "How long have you been standing there?"

"Long enough to hear you call Mulciber stupid and threaten them with possible bodily harm," Sirius explained. "Pardon my French, but it was fucking brilliant!"

"I'm not particularly proud of it, but honestly! All I did was talk to someone from their house and it's like I told everyone a dirty secret about his mum," Hermione vented.

James and Sirius looked at each other at these words and Hermione understood the unspoken conversation immediately. "Do _not_ spread dirty rumors about his mum," she warned.

"They just called you a… you-know-what," James sputtered. "By the way, are you alright?"

"Yes, I am and yeah, he did. But, I've got nothing against his mum except for being thoroughly annoyed about how she raised her son," Hermione explained.

"We won't spread dirty rumors, but I don't think you should wander around the castle on your own, at least for a little while. Take one of us or one of the girls if you go anywhere," Remus explained. Hermione opened her mouth to say something but was cut off by Peter.

"Please, Hermione. Just to keep you safe," he said. Hermione softened at that when Sirius put the last nail in the coffin of her defense.

"Look, we know that you can take care of yourself. It would be doing us a favor so we don't worry," he said.

Hermione exhaled. "Alright, but as long as I don't go alone anywhere, you guys have to promise not to attack them in retaliation. If I see or hear anything, the deal is off," she threatened.

The boys looked at Hermione, then turned around and formed a little huddle so they could discuss their options. Hermione caught phrases like "Should we just… not even in pink… I'd never touch that… we didn't keep any leftover… I don't like it…" and then they all turned around.

"We accept those terms," and they all stuck their hands out and she shook them one at a time.

"Who _were_ those guys, anyway," Hermione asked as they turned and started heading up the stairs towards Gryffindor tower.

"Mulciber, Avery, and Nott," Sirius answered. "Death Eater's in training the lot of them."

"Yeah, they're parents are all rumored to be big Voldemort supporters. They sure do spread his word around here enough. The amount of times I've heard them call Evans a… well _that_ word, it's hard to believe they would end up anywhere else." James steamed.

"Don't forget what he did to Mary last year," Remus entered.

Hermione was listening, but was also watching Peter intently while they spoke. When James said the word 'Voldemort' he flinched, but nothing else. Maybe it wasn't too late to help him. Thinking now would be a good time to add on to the work she had already been doing, she threw an arm around him and said "Well I'm sure glad that I had some big strong men to defend my honor," she said in a light and airy voice. The boys sniggered at this.

"Kitten, I don't think you've ever needed big strong men to defend your honor," Sirius said.

"Kitten?" Hermione asked a little shocked. She remembered Sirius using this nickname for her in the future. It was hard to believe that he would come up with the same nickname for her now as he did 20 years in the future.

"Yeah, I think it fits. There's something about you that reminds me of McGonagall- and she turns into a cat. Mini McGonagall- Mini Minnie- Mini Cat equals kitten. It makes sense. And I give you this nickname as the highest form of a complement," Sirius explained.

"Okay, I accept all of this, but does that mean that you're going to be using cat jokes on me now," Hermione asked.

"Oh, kitten- I think it's something that we are _all_ going to sink our claws into," Sirius said with a wicked smile. Hermione snorted at this, and said the password to the Fat Lady when they reached it. They clambered in and when all five of them were safely inside, Hermione turned and asked one last question.

"Hey, how did you know where I was," she asked.

"We didn't. We were coming down for dinner when we saw what was going on and decided to stick around and see if you needed help," Sirius answered, but his eyes were shifting around a bit and not quite coming up and meeting hers.

"Oh, I'm sorry then. I made you guys miss dinner. I was headed there, too. I wanted to come up here and change before I went down," she looked at the clock that hung on the wall of the common room. "It's too late to go down now," she said. "Want to go down to the kitchens?"

She had a feeling she knew what to expect, but when she looked around at the four of them and it seemed like their eyes were actually trying to escape from their heads in shock, she couldn't hold her laughter in and let it pour out of her. After a few minutes, their expressions of shock turned to annoyance as they had to wait for her to collect herself.

"How do you know where the kitchens were?" James asked.

"Dumbledore showed me," she lied. "Before I went to live with my aunt, Dumbledore had me stay the night here so he could help me make all of the transfer arrangements and the living arrangements for when I moved. I was hungry and he told me how to find them. I haven't been down since I've been back, but I'd like to go down and visit Mitzy."

The boys seemed to accept this and they all went down to the kitchens. It was a nice way to end the day. She was excited to see Mitzy and ask her how she was. The little house-elf was just as happy to see Hermione and brought them anything that they asked for, and a few things that they didn't ask for.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** It's been a few days and here is another chapter! It will be another few days before the next chapter. I have a craft fair that I have a table at this weekend and therefore won't have any time to write. I hurriedly finished this for you guys so you would have to wait another week. As always, all of the grammatical and spelling errors belong to your truly *takes a bow*

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. I do, however, own a Mazda 3, a lot of nail polish, quite a collection of Nancy Drew books, and two cats that are constantly getting into mischief.

Chapter 8

While they were eating dinner Hermione noticed that Remus was starting to look a little peaky, and encouraged him to have seconds and thirds of his favorite foods and asked for extra chocolate for the table. The full moon was only a few days away and he needed as much strength as he could get.

Thinking about the full moon made Hermione think about the fact that all four of her boys were going to be out and about all evening, and she knew that it would be a sleepless night- not just for them- but for herself too. There's no way she could sleep knowing that one of them could possibly be injured.

She had been thinking since she got here that she should go through the books that she brought with her in her beaded bag and see if she had the recipe in them for the Wolfsbane potion. It would be a good chance for her to experiment with brewing it. She could sneak down to the Room of Requirement after the girls in her dorm had gone to sleep and try to brew it for the following month's full moon.

She had been staring into space for quite a long time with these thoughts drifting around in her head, and it wasn't until Remus put his hand on her shoulder that she was shaken from her thoughts.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Where did you go," James asked.

"I was just thinking about the full moon," she answered. She knew this was going to be a tricky topic of conversation, but part of her wanted to answer truthfully.

Remus went pale- paler than he already was- and suddenly saw something very interesting in the mashed potatoes on his plate.

"Why…why were you thinking about the full moon," James asked in a voice that was supposed to be casual- but wasn't.

"Because it's coming up soon, and it's my first Astronomy class tomorrow night," she answered with a shrug of his shoulders. You could see that all four boys let out a sigh of relief at this. "Also, because it's when the werewolf shifts; I can't help but feel bad for them. It must be so painful to transform, and it's so draining in the days leading up to it, and then recovering from it." Hermione admitted. She took this opportunity to look down at her plate and took a very long time to take another swallow of her soup. She could practically feel the buzz around her from the looks they were giving each other and all of the unspoken words.

Finally, it was Sirius who spoke. "I find that interesting, because most witches and wizards are afraid of werewolves and think they're quite dangerous." He was trying to feel out her exact position on the subject.

"I think as long as they take the appropriate precautions, they're no more dangerous than a mad muggle with a gun, or a mad wizard with a wand. Plus, if I'm being honest, it's only a few days out of the month that they're like this. Most _women_ aren't so pleasant to be around a few days out of the month. I don't think we have any right to complain," Hermione said. This comparison earned her a round of laughter from James and Sirius, a scowl from Remus, and an uncomfortable look from Peter.

"So, it's like their time of the month," Sirius said between bursts of laughter, wiping tears from his eyes.

Remus looked right at Sirius and said "If you don't stop laughing, I might say something that would make you look _barking_ mad." Then, looking at James he said "Oh, _dear,_ did I say too much." Remus looked away when both boys were effectively shut up by these statements.

"Again with the animal references," Hermione said in a sing-song voice.

"Well boys, check out the _cat_ -itude on her!" Sirius said with a teasing smile.

They finished up dinner and went back to the common room to finish up some homework that they needed for the following day.

The next day they had their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class with the new Professor Bode. Everyone was excited to see what the new professor was going to bring to the subject. The Gryffindors all arrived early to the class because it was a wildly popular subject given the goings on in the wizarding world.

Hermione knew that Voldemort was gaining followers quickly during this time, and he was going to get more powerful from here on out. She had a little over 5 years between the date today and when he attacked the Potters on Halloween in 1981. She desperately hoped she wouldn't need all that time, but didn't know how long it was going to take.

Determined to pay attention to everything the new professor had to teach, she took a seat in the second row, sitting between Sirius and Lily.

"Has anyone heard anything about the new teacher," Hermione asked the group.

"I heard he's an Auror with the Ministry, and so he's really focusing on defense this year," Mary answered.

"That's good, because by the sound of things we're all going to need to know how to defend ourselves," James said.

"Yeah, did you see about the attack on a muggle family in the Prophet this morning? The whole family wiped out and the Dark Mark hovering over the house," Remus said with a shiver. "Can you imagine coming home and seeing that and just… knowing what is waiting for you inside."

Everyone stayed quite for a moment, all just thinking about themselves being in that situation. Finally it was Sirius who broke the silence. "I want to fight."

"Yeah, me too," Marlene answered.

"So do I," James said.

"I want to help, but I don't think I'd like to fight. Maybe a healer," Lily offered. "I'm good at potions, maybe a potioneer with a focus in the medicinal potions?"

"I think that would be perfect for you," James said to her.

"Really," Lily looked at him.

"Yeah, you're not one to rush into things, but you like to help in the best way that you can. Plus, you're absolutely brilliant at potions," he complemented her.

Lily's eyes were looking straight at her while he said this, and her cheeks started to heat up towards the end. She managed a smile "thanks," and turned her attention to her book.

At this moment Professor Bode strode into the classroom. He reached the front and surveyed the group.

"Good Morning, I'm Professor Bode. I'm an Auror from the Ministry and I'll be your Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher this year. I'm only here for the year, a favor to Dumbledore. But, whether it's a coincidence or done purposefully, it's a good time in your education for me to be here. With the war going on out there, times are getting dangerous. A show of hands- who is interested in the Auror Training Program when you graduate?"

Sirius, James, and Marlene put their hands in the air along with a couple others from Ravenclaw.

"Good, well this class will be a great beginner course to the Auror program. This year we will be focusing on defensive magic- recognizing offensive magic, blocking spells and shields, offensive magic, and dueling. If we have time we might get into other areas, but this is what this class will be built around. Any questions?" No one raised their hands, so Professor Bode moved on.

The rest of the class was used to talk about the finer details of a duel. Proper etiquette, correct stance, the correct way to hold your wand, concentration, and finally the importance of nonverbal spells. It was an interesting class. Professor Bode was a good combination of being well read and experienced in the field, but interesting enough to be engaging to the students and able to keep their interest. He put lists up on the blackboard, drew diagrams, brought students up to the front in order to demonstrate the correct way of doing something, and he had lots of examples and stories from his adventures to put their learning into context.

The students left the classroom excited about the following lesson. Bode had promised to have a practical lesson next class. He wanted to balance the practical with the theory, so every other class would be one or the other.

Hermione was excited about this new teaching assignment. She had been taught by a fair few teachers, and she would like to think she could tell the good ones from the duds very early on. Something about this teacher reminded her of Remus' teaching style, and maybe this was where he had adapted his from. She found him to be very knowledgeable on the subject and was excited to see where the school year would take them.

Two days later was the day of the full moon. Hermione walked down to the common room to find only three of the four Marauders, but it honestly didn't surprise her. Poor Remus had been looking worse and worse the last few days, and had actually snapped at Mary and Dorcas for gossiping in Charms. He apologized by the end of class and the girls easily forgave him, but it was so unlike him that he must be in a lot of pain.

Hermione wondered how the transition between being at home and coming back to school affected his transformations. It would explain how drastic his behavior and his health had been the last few days. She made a mental note to ask him about it when he knew that she knew.

When Hermione reached the end of the stairs, she made a show of looking around confusedly and asked, "Are we waiting for Remus?"

"No, he went to the hospital wing last night. He hasn't been feeling well for a few days and it finally became really bad last night. We walked him down. Madam Pomfrey said he needed bed rest and would be back by tomorrow night," James explained.

"So there's one less Marauder today. Care to fill in?" Sirius asked.

"Really, you would let me be a part of your secret club for the day," Hermione said skeptically.

"Well, we couldn't divulge any of our _darkest_ secrets, but we could allow you to maybe… pull a prank with us," Sirius said this like he was offering her the secret of life.

"Hmm… I guess I could do with some entertainment today, but nothing offensive or humiliating. Just some good fun," Hermione decided. The boys looked at her like they couldn't believe what she had just said, but then their lips all split into identical grins.

"Brilliant, now what are you thinking," Peter said.

"Well, I've got an idea, but it's ridiculously muggle I don't know if you guys will like it," She confessed.

"I _love_ muggle pranks," Sirius exclaimed.

"Well, what we could do is," and her voice lowered into an intense whisper.

"Ha! That's a good idea! It's simple, but elegant. Very clever kitten," Sirius said.

Hermione made sure to take more detailed notes in her classes that day for Remus, because she knew that none of the other Marauders were as thorough at taking them as she was. And she could guarantee that she enjoyed taking notes more than them.

The day went by very slowly in the Marauders- Plus- One's opinion. They were waiting for dinner time to roll around so they could go ahead with their prank. They even had another Defense as their last class of the day and only that was _almost_ enough to make them forget about their dinner plans.

They walked into their Defense class and they were met with a curious sight. All of the desks were lined up against the wall and in the middle of the room there were two rows of pillows. Professor Bode was already there and giving directions to the students.

"Come one in, put your bags down on a table and sit on a pillow. Come in, we've got a lot to get too today. No, we're not sitting on stools, on pillows- hurry up!" he was saying. When everyone was sitting on a pillow, he started the class.

"Good morning, everyone- something I'd like to do with every practical class is start off with some light meditation." Groans filled the classroom. "Hey, it's a great concentration technique and it will help with your dueling. So, everyone cross their legs and straighten your back- you don't want to be tense, think more like proper posture. Now, close your eyes and breathe. Breathe in and out through your nose, and focus only on the sensation of your breathing."

Hermione took a peek at her friends to see how they were doing before following through with the directions. James looked very uncomfortable sitting in that position and Sirius almost looked too comfortable. She turned her attention to Peter and was afraid he was asleep. Mary and Dorcas were taking this very seriously- as was Lily. Marlene looked hesitant, but eventually closed her eyes.

Hermione took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She breathed in through her nose, and out, in and out, in and out, in and out. After a minute, her mind started to wander to the potions assignment she hadn't finished, and if she was going to need different ingredients then what she had in order to make the Wolfsbane Potion, and-

"Don't let your minds wander. The art of meditation is too help you center yourself and concentrate. You need to be able to shove all of the other things out of your mind and focus. Just breathe." Bode said softly.

Hermione could hear him walking around them softly, but she was doing everything she could to push out any and all other thought and just focus on breathing in and out. In and out, in and-

"Alright, that's it for today," Bode said. Hermione slowly opened her eyes and looked around confused. They only did it for 5 minutes, what was the point of that?

"We will be meditating for 20 minutes at the beginning of each class. Now, please pile your cushions over here and everyone please stand to this side of the classroom," he was explaining, but Hermione's mind was whirling. 20 minutes! She was meditating for that long and had no idea?

"Come, now everyone. I don't want to waste a single minute. Okay, our first practical lesson will be to show how important your concentration is," Bode said. He waved his wand and in the middle of the classroom a long pole started to extend up from the ground, and another one directly above it started to extend from the ceiling. They stopped when they was about 6 inches separating them. "It's quite a simple idea, really. You are going to levitate and hover this marble between the two poles. It's a small space, but if your concentration is there then you should have no trouble. I will be making some distractions around the room to try to break your concentration, but the important thing to do it to concentrate."

Everyone nodded in understanding.

"Anyone willing to go first?"

"I will," said James. He walked into the middle of the room, about 6 feet from the poles, and silently levitated the marble that Bode was holding between the two poles. Bode gave him a minute to get accommodated to it, and then waved his wand.

There were sounds coming from different parts of the room that sounded like far away fireworks, but they were steadily getting louder. There was a particularly loud one close to James and you could see the marble waver a bit, but he got it back under control. Then, with another wave of his wand there were orbs off green and blue and red lights hovering everywhere in the room. They moved slowly around, but soon started to speed up. Pretty soon they were zooming around the classroom at speeds so fast that they actually looked like spells being sent during a real duel.

Hermione had a flashback of the Great Hall during the battle of Hogwarts. She, Ginny and Luna were battling against Bellatrix and curses were being sent so fast from all over the room and her friends and love ones were being taken down left and right.

Hermione shook her head, this wasn't the time. She looked up to see James' marble hit the pole and James cursed. Bode waved his wand again and everything stopped moving.

"Great job, Potter- it's hard, but it was a good first attempt. Alright, next," Bode said.

Everyone eventually had a turn, and at one point Lily had the longest success. When Professor Bode announced this Lily's face flushed with pride.

Eventually it was Hermione's turn, and she walked up to where she would levitate the marble. She levitated the marble between the two poles, and focused on her breathing- in and out, in and out, in and out. In the back of her mind she could hear the fireworks starting, but her mind was on her breathing, staring at the marble and just breathing. There was a _BOOM_ right beside her, but she didn't even flinch. Then all around her the balls of light were being conjured. They hovered softly at first, but soon they were moving faster and faster. Breathe in and out, in and out, in and out.

The thing that broke her out of her concentration was when the stack of pillows exploded and one went crashing into her, sending her to the floor and feathers to floating all over the classroom.

"Wonderful, really wonderful job Miss. Granger," Bode praised her.

Hermione looked up from her place on the floor and shook her head. She didn't see the pillows coming, and she was hit. If that had happened during the battle of Hogwarts, she wouldn't be here. What had happened? Hermione got up and walked back to her spot with the rest of her classmates.

The rest of the class went, without anyone coming close to Hermione's time. "Very good work today, everyone. We will come back next week with another theoretical lesson, so please bring your books. See you next week," Bode called.

When it was finally time for their last class of the day to come to a close, they all but ran out down to the Great Hall. The prank was eloquent, but funny too. First, they needed to transfigure all of the benches into chairs, and then they could start.

Sirius and James were the ones who worked on that, while Hermione and Peter started on the other part of the prank. If they hadn't had magic to help them along with the process, they never would have finished in time. As it was they had finished with only moments to spare. The group walked out of the Great Hall and hid in a corner behind the staircase. They didn't want to be caught at the scene of the crime, but they also didn't want to miss the reactions of the students.

They could hear the uneasiness in the voices of those students who had arrived to dinner early and saw all of the chairs around the tables instead of benches. But the prank didn't really set in until the first one sat down and they heard the sound of the air horn that was attached underneath the seat of the chair. Giggling to themselves, more and more air horn sounds could be heard from the students, along with a string to curses from those who had been frightened by the powerful sound.

"That was brilliant," James laughed.

"Yeah, and it's so muggle that no one would suspect us," Sirius announced.

"I'm glad to help you guys cause chaos without being caught," Hermione said rolling her eyes, but then bursting into laughter when she heard a loud yell emit from the Great Hall shouting "SODDING HELL".

After about ten more minutes they decided it was time for them to go to dinner. They calmed themselves down and tried to act casually when they all sat down. However, the group she was working with wasn't known for their acting skills. When the air horn went off, their reactions were utterly ridiculous.

"I was _NOT_ expecting that," James yelled.

"Whose soddingly excellent idea was this," Sirius said with an attempt at a disapproving look.

Peter couldn't even wait until he sat down to look surprised, and he jumped up and yelled when his bum hadn't even made contact with the seat. James and Sirius looked at him like he was a nutter, and so dejectedly he sat back down. However, he genuinely forgot that time that his chair was about to make an air splitting noise, and he threw himself back up clutching his bottom. At that, James, Sirius and Hermione all let out a burst of laughter.

Lily and the rest of the girls from her dormitory walked into the Great Hall at this moment, and looked around confused. However, it didn't take long for their eyes to land on the Marauders and Hermione. They walked over and stood behind them.

"What's going on, Potter?" Lily asked.

"Nothing," Sirius answered for him.

"Yeah, I've seen that look before," Marlene said. "What's going to happen when we sit down in one of these chairs?"

'You receive the lumbar support that the old benches just didn't offer," Peter started to explain. However, Lily knew better than that and was staring James down, until her face started to soften.

"Come on, Potter. Tell me what will happen," Lily said with a purr. The girls around her discretely turned their faces at this, knowing that Lily was going to break him and they thought it was hilarious.

"Well…" James began.

"Ladies, you are all safe here. Why don't you just sit down and relax," Sirius tried to convince them, but James was starting to sweat from the looks that Lily was giving him. "Hold it together, mate." He whispered to James.

Lily put her hands on the table and leaned over, shrinking the space between them. "Just tell me, I can tell you want too," she said, emphasizing the word _want_.

James opened his mouth at this moment, ready to blurt out his deepest and darkest secrets, but Sirius reached him first and smacked his hand over James' mouth.

"Sorry, ladies," Sirius said. "You will just have to sit and find out".

"Okay, just tell me this. Does this involve us getting wet, sticky, hurt, colored, smelly, hairy, bumpy, bald, or anything else that will disfigure my person," Lily asked.

Sirius listened to the list that Lily had given him, before shaking his head no. Lily took a deep breath and pulled a chair out, stepped in front of it, and sat down. The air horn made the loud HONK noise, and Lily leapt out of her chair. She looked at the Marauders, then looked at Hermione with a look that clearly asked " _was this you?"._ Hermione nodded her head, and then burst into laughter. The three boys and even the rest of the girls from her dormitory were looking at her like she had lost her mind.

"That…was…excellent!" Lily exclaimed.

"Really?" James asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, those are good pranks. No one is humiliated and it makes for a good laugh," Lily explained. The Marauders and Hermione helped deactivate the chairs for the girls so they could all sit down to dinner. They heard another sound loud air horn sound and looked up to the staff table to see McGonagall clutching onto her chest, her hat askew and breathing very heavily, while next to her Dumbledore was chuckling very quietly to himself. The Marauders turned to look at Hermione and beamed.

The boys ate awfully fast that evening, and were finished before anyone else had eaten half of their fill.

"Well, we men have things to do tonight. No, I don't want to hear you ask 'Where are you going and can I come too?' because this is the top secret on the Marauders list of secrets," Sirius announced. No one paid any attention to him, and he couldn't tell if he was hurt by this, or if this was actually the outcome that he had wanted.

The three boys stood up and headed towards the door, but Sirius stayed behind. "Remember our deal? You don't go anywhere alone and we won't prank. Just stay in the tower with the girls tonight," he pleaded.

"I'll follow your rules if you follow mine," Hermione said. She bit her lip, and then took a chance. "You guys be safe tonight, in whatever mischief you're getting yourselves into. Don't take any unnecessary… risks."

Sirius gave her a funny look at first, but then quickly changed it into a smile and nodded his head before heading out of the Great Hall to catch up with the other boys.

When the girls had finished dinner that night, they all walked up to the common room and started on their homework. They had an essay for McGonagall on human transfiguration, an essay for Slughorn on the properties of unicorn blood in potion making, and one for Flitwick on turning vinegar into wine, on top of a bunch of calculations that were required in Arithmancy and a translation in Ancient Runes. The teachers were piling on the homework this year, and they had only been there a week.

The girls worked for a few hours, before everyone except for Hermione was left in the common room. She had been thinking for a little while about what to do, and she finally made up her mind. She walked up the stairs towards the dormitory, but instead of going to the girls, she headed up to the boys dorm. She crept along until she found the sixth years, and quietly pushed the door open. She was hoping that the boys didn't take both the cloak and the map with them, and she was going to use one or the other to help her get to the Room of Requirement. She tiptoed to the first bed and opened the trunk at the foot. Quickly looking through, but making sure not to disrupt much, she searched.

When she didn't find anything, she moved through the rest of the trunks, and sighed with annoyance when she didn't find it. She walked back towards the door when something silvery caught her eye. She went over to the hooks that were next to the door, and used her hands to feel around. The cloak had been hanging up there and she didn't even know. _Hmm… that's the definition of hidden in plain sight_ she thought to herself.

She grabbed it and walked back down the boy's staircase, and up to the girl's one. She stuffed the invisibility cloak into her pocket before she walked in. Hermione made a big deal about getting her pajamas on and getting into bed and pulling her curtains. She lay there for a while, waiting for the breathing to even out, before she pulled the cloak out and draped it around her. She grabbed her beaded bag and her potion making kit and snuck out of the dormitory.

The journey to the Room of Requirement was uneventful, and she didn't run into anyone. Hermione walked in front of the wall space and asked for a room to make potions in, and repeated it three times. When she turned back towards the wall, there was a door that looked like one from the dungeons. Hermione walked in and saw a table, cauldron, and a shelving unit with potion making ingredients.

Hermione settled herself in a stool and pulled all of the necessary items from her beaded bag and got to work. She looked at the list of ingredients needed for the potion. Most of them she had, but there were a few that were going to be expensive. Hermione would have to think about how to afford those every month later.

For now, Hermione sat there and read and reread the recipe for the potion very carefully, absorbing as much information as she could and trying to dissect every aspect of it. It was a very complicated potion indeed, and if she messed it up, not only was it a waste of her time, but also a waste of the expensive ingredients.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I don't make any money from this. I wish I did- that would be awesome. However, I just mess around with these characters in my free time.

Chapter 9

Feeling dejected, Hermione picked up her stuff and headed made to leave the room. She got down to the end of the hall when she had an idea, maybe tonight won't be a complete waste of time. She walked back down to the empty wall and walked back and forth three times, and a familiar door was there. She opened it and was relieved to see it just the way she remembered it.

There were broken joke toys, old broomsticks, rusted caldrons, paintings, trash, furniture, and anything else you could possibly think of, all stacked into giant piles all around the endless maze of a room. Hermione took out her wand and conjured a large ball of yarn, and tied it to the rung of a chair stationed close to the door.

The idea had come to her from the old Greek mythologies. This one was about the Labyrinth and the Minotaur. The hero Theseus had been sent into the maze, but King Minos' daughter Ariadne fell in love with him, and gave him a ball of yarn so he could find his way back to her. Theseus was able to slay the Minotaur and make his way back out of the Labyrinth.

Hermione's heart felt a little tug at his part of the story. Theseus had promised to marry Ariadne, and she had loved and trusted him. However, he felt her stranded on the island of Naxos and broke his promise. But, that was when she met the God Dionysus, and he had fallen in love with her, and they married. What was that saying, _when one door closes, another one opens_. Hermione was feeling a little bit of a kinship between that story and the life she was currently living.

Shaking those thoughts away, she started to unroll the string as she walked in search of Ravenclaw's lost diadem. She hadn't planned to start this part of her quest this early, but _when in Rome!_

At this thought, Hermione had a little chuckle to herself. Since when did she become the queen of clichés? James was the one who liked them, and was horrible with them. Maybe she could get a book for him about them for Christmas!

Hermione came to a dead end, and had to rewrap the yarn back up and try again. She ended up repeating these steps three more times before she saw a familiar scene in front of her. There was a chipped bust of an ugly warlock, so Hermione took a minute to look around this area to find what she was looking for. At last, she found it, and it looked just like she remembered it. There was a blue sapphire on it in the shape of an oval, and the quote along it said _Wit beyond measure is man's greatest treasure_.

Hermione took the diadem and stared at it while she began to think. Now that she found it, should she take it with her? She didn't want to leave it in her dorm incase on of the other girls found it accidentally, or they started to react horribly to it just like Ron had when it was near him. Biting her lip, she put it back down, and covered it with a moth eaten blanket she found in a neighboring pile of stuff.

She had decided to leave it here, and her reasoning was simple. It was still here 20 years in the future, so it has to be safe. When she found another one she would bring it in here and hit it somewhere in here, too. Maybe she should make a map, she thought. It would help with remembering where everything was, and she wouldn't need to use the string anymore.

Deciding to start that another night, Hermione followed the string back to the door, rolled it up and tucked it into her pocket, and pulled out the invisibility cloak. Throwing it around her, she made her way back up to Gryffindor tower.

Hermione said the password to a very confused Fat Lady (Who's there? Is that you Peeves?) And walked up to the boy's room. She put the invisibility cloak back where she had found it, walked up to the girl's dorm to grab a book and a blanket, and then headed to the common room to wait for her boys. She snuggled up on the couch to wait, and ended up falling asleep.

Hermione was awoken a few hours later by Sirius, who was shaking her gently.

"Hey, did you sleep out here all night?" he asked.

"I guess so," Hermione said with a yawn as she sat up. She looked up to the stairs and saw James and Peter walking slowly up them.

"Well, go on up to your room, you have a couple of hours before breakfast starts," he said. And even as he said this, he sank onto the couch beside her.

"Okay, thanks. Wait, did you guys just get in," she asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, we had some mischief we needed to get caught up on and then we went to visit with Remus," he answered.

"How is he," Hermione said.

"Better, he should be back tomorrow night," Sirius explained.

"Oh, good- I thought about going to visit him," she said with a questioning tone to her voice.

Sirius paused for a moment before saying, "He doesn't really like people seeing him when he's sick. Plus, Pomfrey is keeping him asleep most of the time."

"Oh, okay. I guess I'll just see him when he gets back," Hermione said tentatively.

They sat in silence for a little while, before Hermione stood up and walked to the stairs. She turned around before she made it up there and saw that Sirius was staring at her.

"Well, I'm glad that you guys seemed to have a good night and you were…safe, if all of your mischief making," she said awkwardly. Her cheeks flushed a little bit to know that he was watching her walk away.

"We were," he said. "Good night."

"Good night," she said and she turned around and walked up the stairs. Feeling bold, she added a little bit more flourish with her hips when she walked up the stairs. Turning around again, she saw Sirius almost obnoxiously staring at her bum. He flushed a little at being caught, but didn't look away. Hermione turned back and continued her trek up to her dormitory.

The next few weeks flew by and before she knew it- it was the day before her birthday! She didn't want to tell anyone about it, she was having a lot of different feelings about it. It was going to be the first birthday in a long time that she wouldn't be spending it with her friends- specifically Harry and Ron. Her last birthday had been kind of passed over because they were scouting out the Ministry of Magic and trying to make up a plan to break in and steal the Horcrux locket from Umbridge.

She woke up like any other Saturday morning and had prepared to spend the day working on homework in the library. It's not that she didn't want to celebrate it- she was actually turning 18 tomorrow, the day when she would legally become an adult in the muggle world. It was exciting and she should have been looking forward to it. However, her parents are not around in this time and she's not even born, so her connection to the muggle world felt thinner than it ever had, and it pained Hermione when she thought of it.

"Good morning," she said when she came out of the shower and saw that Lily was also awake. Hermione had dressed casually today, wearing a pair of jeans, a tank top, and a hoodie. It wasn't exactly the style of the era she was in, but Hermione didn't care. It was a connection to her muggle heritage from where she had come from, and it was comforting to her today.

"Morning," Lily said sleepily.

"I'm going down to breakfast and then the library, do you want me to wait for you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, actually- I'll hurry," Lily answered and hopped out of bed, grabbed some clothes and headed towards the bathroom. The other girls in the dorm were still asleep, and Hermione didn't want to wake them. It was Saturday, they could sleep in as late as they wanted. Plus, it was nice to have some alone time.

Hermione wandered over to her bed and opened the drawer to her side table. She carefully took out her beaded bag and opened it. She didn't know why, but she started digging around in there. She pulled ended up pulling out a book, and smiled when she saw the title. It was a copy of _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ that had belonged to Harry. She opened the cover and smiled. Well, according to the first page, it also belonged to Ron Weasley because his copy had fallen apart and instead of getting a new one, he decided to stock up on dungbombs.

Hermione flicked through the pages to see different things that Harry and Ron had added to the text. She smiled when she read a part of the text that stated a colony of Acromantula in Scotland was unconfirmed- but Ron crossied it out and wrote that it had indeed been confirmed by himself and Harry. Or the section heading on the Norwegian Ridgeback being scratched out and 'Baby Norbert' being added in. And all the funny notes about how Hagrid probably hasn't read this book and if it says that the creature is dangerous, Hagrid would think it was as cute as a pigmy puff.

Hearing Lily finishing up in the bathroom, Hermione shoved the book back into her beaded bag and stuck it in the drawer of her night table again.

Hermione actually felt better after finding that book. She didn't remember packing it, but she was glad she did. While she might not be with Harry and Ron right now, and while she might not know what was going to happen in the future- because she was absolutely going to change it- she knew that she would always carry a piece of her friends with her, wherever she went.

Lily exited the bathroom looking ready for the day. She was also dressed in muggle clothing, but hers were correct for the time. She had on a light green button down shirt, and it was tucked into a pair of dark blue bell bottoms.

"I'm ready," she said.

The girls walked downstairs and met up with the Marauders, like always.

"How are you guys always ready this early?" Hermione asked as they walked out of the portrait.

"It's James, he's a bloody early riser and we've learned to accept that. Also, he sings in the shower and no one could sleep through that," Remus explained with a yawn.

The girls giggled at this, and James turned pink.

"Really, you sing in the shower James? What kind of songs do you sing?" Hermione asked.

"Well this morning it was Love Will Keep Us Together," Sirius answered for James.

"Muggle music? I never would have thought you would be a fan," Lily questioned.

"I really like it. Sirius started listening to it when he was young, but when he started taking Muggle Studies he listened to it a lot more. Now that he lives with me, we had it playing almost all summer," James told her.

"And what do your parents think about that?" Lily asked.

"Oh, his dad loves it! Spent all summer with Kung Fu Fighting stuck in his head!" Sirius laughed. "Oh, and remember when we snuck up on him in his workroom. He was trying to dilute the potency of Doxy venom for the potion he was working on, and we caught him in a rendition of Play That Funky Music White Boy."

This earned a laugh from everyone else, too.

"Wait, your dad makes potions? I didn't know that," Lily asked.

James immediately looked uncomfortable. "Erm… yeah," he answered.

"You mean you don't know?" Sirius said incredulously.

"Know what?" Lily said, very confused at this point. They had reached the Great Hall and sat down at the table.

"His dad is the inventor of the Sleekeasy's hair potion," Peter piped up.

" _What_!" Lily yelled.

Hermione had a moment of… well she couldn't exactly put her finger on how she was feeling. She had _used_ that potion on her hair for the Yule Ball in fourth year, and she never knew that Harry grandfather had invented it.

"Yeah, he's a brilliant potioneer- he's Fleamont Potter," Remus told them.

" _The_ Fleamont Potter- I had thought that you might be related to him somehow, but I never thought he would be your _father_. He's completely brilliant and the way he uses the…" but Hermione stopped paying attention to Lily at these words and was looking closely at James.

He looked uncomfortable- like he would rather be talking about any other subject in the world right now, even the style of undergarments that Dumbledore prefers.

"- wait. If he's your father, why aren't you better at potions," Lily asked.

Sirius snorted at this question, and if it was possible, James's face flushed even more than he already was.

"His mum asks him that all the time. 'Jamie, you know if you need some help you can ask your father, I'm sure he would be willing to give you some pointers. He might even agree to be a guest speaker! Oh, could you imagine it. Both of my boys working together…' She gets on him about it all the time," Sirius explained.

Before anyone could say anything else about James or his famous father, the mail arrived. Hundreds of owls swooping here and there dropping letters and packages to students and teachers- and this morning Hermione saw two owls dropping off a package each in front of her.

"What's all this?" Sirius asked.

Looking confused, Hermione shrugged her shoulders and opened the letter that was attached to the largest package.

 _Dear Hermione,_

 _Happy Birthday dear niece. Well, tomorrow will be your birthday- but I think tonight is an excellent day for a celebration! Don't be alarmed, Professor Dumbledore let it slip when he was here on Thursday that your birthday was tomorrow and I wanted to make sure that you got something, but I also wanted to make sure it was recognized._

 _You are 17 tomorrow, and it's an important time in your life. The time when it's most important to have a mother figure to guide you as you venture into adulthood. I know if your mother could be with you tomorrow, she would. However, I feel very privileged to be in a position where I get to help you celebrate this day._

 _I hope you make the most of it,_

 _Love_

 _Aunt Rosmerta_

Hermione read the letter twice before putting it down. She had been feeling unsure about the day so far, but after receiving the letter from her surrogate aunt, it made the day feel real and gave Hermione a flutter of excitement in her chest- whereas before she received the letter it felt hollow. Slowly she reached for the package and opened it. Inside was a small box with another piece of parchment on it. The note read:

 _Hermione, I don't know if you are aware but there is a tradition in the wizarding world where when a wizard become of age, they receive a watch from their family. Now, I know I'm not your mother, and I know that you are not a wizard, but I think both you and I know how to break the rules in the best of ways. Enjoy this gift, for it belonged to someone special once, and passed on to me. It's now my turn to pass it on to you._

 _Also, the larger package should be opened in a private space. I know it's a day early for the celebration, but when you see what's inside- you'll understand. I'm also breaking another rule, because it's a rule that I don't serve to anyone attending Hogwarts, I'm making an acceptation for you. Please don't tell Sirius Black, though. I'll never hear the end of it._

Hermione put down the note and picked up the box. When she lifted the lid, she found that there was a beautiful silver pocket watch nestled inside. However, there was something different about it. She picked up the watch and noticed that there was a thin silver chair attached to it. That's when Hermione realized what Rosmerta had done. It had originally been a pocket watch, no doubt it belonged to a wizard of some kind. However, her aunt had attached a different kind of chain to it and turned it into a beautiful necklace.

"Hermione, are you okay," Remus asked, putting a hand on her back.

"Yeah, it's from my aunt," Hermione explained.

"It's beautiful," Lily told her.

"It's a birthday gift," Hermione said.

"Today's your birthday?" Sirius and James said together.

"Tomorrow."

"Why didn't you tell us, we didn't plan anything," Lily said.

"It's okay, I didn't want to make a big deal. Actually, I was feeling a bit down about it earlier. It's going to be the first birthday that I won't be able to celebrate with my parents or my friends from my other school, so I kept it to myself," Hermione told them, still admiring the necklace.

"But you're not now?" Peter asked.

Hermione shook her head. "My aunt made me feel better. You know, she also took care to plan a little something, too."

"Really, what did she plan," Remus asked.

"It's inside this box, and if it's what I think it is- well, we can't open it here." Hermione said with a smirk.

"What is it?" Sirius asked- reaching for the large package.

"Nope, you'll have to wait," Hermione teased.

For the rest of the meal, the boys kept asking her what was in the box- making guesses, trying to take a peek at the note her aunt had sent her, and Sirius had even tried to open up the box itself. By the time they had finished breakfast and walked back up to the tower, Sirius was dying with anticipation. Apparently, he doesn't handle surprises too well.

"Let's take it up to the dorm," Lily said.

"Wait, I want to see what's in it too!" Sirius whined.

"Well we can't open it here," Lily argued.

"So let's go up to the boy's dorm. No one's up there," Peter suggested.

Lily looked uncomfortable with this suggestion and James's cheeks had that familiar tint of pink in them again. Sirius picked up the box from Hermione's hands and headed up to the boys dormitory.

They walked in and Sirius dropped in onto his bed. He hurriedly motioned for Hermione to follow him, and she made her way over.

"Open it- Open it!" He chanted, with a little bounce.

"Okay, I'm opening," Hermione said with a smile. Using her wand, Hermione broke the seal on the package and opened the top for everyone to see inside. Her guess was correct, and in side were a couple bottles of firewhiskey and a couple bottles of muggle alcohol.

When the boys and Lily saw the rest of her gift, they all had different reactions. Sirius and James began to whoop and holler in excitement, Remus just stood there grinning excitedly. Peter looked confused at what was in the bottles, and Lily looked very unsure about it.

"Party tonight! Hermione, your aunt is amazing! Okay boys, we've got to start planning. Ladies, I'm going to have to kindly ask for you to leave and let us work our magic. We'll hold on to this," he picked up the box and put it down on the floor beside the bed," and let you know what the details are later," Sirius told them.

"Wait a second, why do you guys get to do all the planning?" Lily asked them.

"You want to help?" James asked nervously.

"Well, yeah. She's my friend too." She said.

"Okay, then Lily-flower, you may stay and help with the party planning. Miss. Granger, I'm going to have to ask you to step out of our offices. We'll send you an invitation later. However, we will be needing and RSVP as soon as possible," Sirius said teasingly.

"Okay, I'll leave. Nothing too much, okay? Just a get together with you guys and the rest of the girls," Hermione tried to tell them, but Remus had opened the door at this point and James had practically picked her up and placed her outside.

Hermione shook her head- what had her aunt gotten her into?

The day passed by pleasantly. After she had left the boys dorm she went up to get her bag, told Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene what had occurred at breakfast and they were both excited for the evening's festivities. She spent the rest of the day in the library working on her homework.

At around noon, Hermione indeed received an owl telling her to be on the 7th floor at 7 p.m. that evening. She smiled at the invitation and check off that she was attending. She attached it back to the owl and watched it fly off.

Hermione finished her homework and went upstairs a couple of hours before the party. She wanted to shower and get dressed before going up. She ended up dressing light denim bell bottoms and a long sleeved floral maroon top. She used the spell to curl her hair the way she liked it, and because it was a special evening, she coated her eyelashes with black mascara.

When she was ready she walked down to the common room to find Remus and Peter waiting already down there.

"We are here to escort the birthday girl," Remus said with a smile.

"Well what's the point in sending an invitation telling me where we're going and then sending someone to escort me?" Hermione asked impatiently.

"I honestly don't know. It's Sirius; do I need to explain any further?" Remus said exasperatedly.

"On second thought, this makes complete sense," she laughed. "Alright, let's go."

"Actually, you can't go like that," Remus said hurriedly.

"Why, what's wrong with this outfit," Hermione said self-consciously.

"Oh no, not that. You look beautiful. No, I meant that you can't go without this," He said horrified at his unintended slight, his face flushing as he held out his hands to show her the blindfold,

"Oh, thanks," She said with a little tinge of pink appearing on her cheeks. She turned around and felt the cloth slip over her eyes. When it was in place, Remus took one of her hands and Peter took the other. They started to guide her along to the portrait hole when her foot caught on the side of a coffee table.

"Oof," she said as she stumbled. When she regained her balance she said, "Is this really necessary. I know where I'm going- it said in the invitation."

"Yeah, but this is what Sirius and James want. They said it was more of a surprise this way," Peter explained.

"It's more of a pain in my arse," Hermione mumbled as she tried to exit the portrait hole.

The journey up to the 7th floor took a bit longer than they were anticipating and they ended up being a few minutes late.

"There, now just stand here for a minute," Peter said. She could hear footstep moving away from here, and then coming back to her, and then moving away again. She guessed he was pacing in front of the empty wall space that leads to the Room of Requirement.

"Okay, we can go in," Remus said. She followed her guides as they lead her through a door way. Suddenly, the blindfold was ripped off of her face.

It took her a minute to for her eyes to get adjusted to the light again, but when she did she saw that she was in a room very similar to the Gryffindor common room. There were streamers draped around the ceiling and balloons floating around. There was a table on one side of the room that had the selection of alcoholic beverages, as well as some non-alcoholic. There was also a table that had a selection of sweets from Honeydukes on it.

Standing in front of her were her friends who were watching her closely. She beamed at them.

"You guys didn't have to do all of this," Hermione began to say.

"You have to celebrate a birthday. And it's your 17th tomorrow, right?" James asked. When Hermione nodded her head he continued. "Then yes, we did have to do this."

Hermione walked up to everyone and gave them each a hug.

"Alright, let's party!" Sirius yelled. Somewhere in the room music started to play- muggle music.

"How are you playing this?" Hermione asked him.

"We charmed a radio to play in here," he answered simply.

"Where did you guys get all this food?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, we have our ways. The girls did the decorating and the boys went in search of sweets!" He told her.

"So you know how to get in and out of the castle without being caught?" she baited him.

"It's one of the mysteries of the Marauders," he said while walking over to the table and pouring himself a glass of firewhiskey.

"You know, there were a couple of boys from my old school who knew who to sneak out and would bring back goodies for a party whenever there was a Quidditch victory," Hermione told him.

"Oh really? And were they devilishly handsome as well," he said with a raised eyebrow.

"They were troublemakers just like you guys," she said. "Actually, come to think of it, they were also beaters on the Quidditch team," she remembered.

"They sound like amazing blokes, if I do say so myself. I hear that the beaters are always the sexiest players on the team," he said with a wink while pouring her a glass of firewhiskey next and handed it to her.

Hermione looked unsure about it, but took a sip anyway. It burned just like she remembered, and coughed a little at the sensation.

"Your first one?" he asked.

"No, I've tried it before- I just never liked it," She answered truthfully. She thought about the first time her had ever tried the drink- it was the night that they had rescued Harry from the Dursley's for the last time, and during the chaos with the Death Eaters, Mad-Eye Moody was struck down. They all had a toast to his memory that night.

Sirius and Hermione walked over to the couches where everyone else was talking and laughing together. Hermione looked surprised when she saw that James and Lily were deep in conversation.

"So Hermione, how does this compare to your last birthday?" Remus asked her.

"Well, last year I went… camping. I was with some friends, but it didn't turn out great. I'd say this one is off to a much better start," Hermione said.

"Tell us about your friends. Were they boys?" Marlene asked with a purr.

"Yeah, my two best friends were both boys," Hermione said with a sigh.

"Oooh, were they cute," Mary now asked.

"Yes, they were both good looking," Hermione said- taking a sit of the firewhiskey to help with where the conversation might end up.

"Did you ever date either of them," Marlene asked.

"No, well not really. Harry was my best friend- more like a brother. Ron… it was complicated with him. I might have dated him if I hadn't had to leave." She said.

"Why didn't you try long-distance dating," Dorcas asked.

"Well, like I said- it was complicated. It might have worked out if I had stayed, but things change. I don't regret it either way," Hermione said quietly. She looked around the room and made eye contact with Remus, her eyes pleading for him to change the subject.

"Hey, Lily! Didn't you bring some muggle games for us to play," Remus hollered over to her.

"Oh yeah- Hermione, you'll never guess what I brought! Twister!" Lily said excitedly.

"Really? It's been ages since I played that," Hermione gushed.

"What's twister?" James asked.

"It's a game. Someone will call out different colors for us to put our hands and feet on, and we have to do it. If you fall you lose," Hermione explained.

"Well that sounds easy," Sirius said with a shrug.

"It's harder than you think, because with a bunch of people all doing it at the same time your bodies get all twisted up. Ergo- Twister," Lily told them.

They laid the mat out and it was decided that Hermione, Mary, Sirius and Remus would be in the first group to play, and then James, Lily, Dorcas and Marlene would be in the second group. Peter decided he would be the official spinner and call out the instructions. The first few spins had the game going by slowly, but soon everyone was getting tangled up. Hermione was squatting down on the floor behind Remus, who had his bum in the air as he made a bridge over Mary. Sirius was on the other end of the mat, with his arms underneath him and his legs draped underneath Mary's body.

"Remus, right foot on blue," Peter called. Remus moved his foot away from Hermione and closer to Mary.

"Mary, left foot on green," Peter said. However, when Mary moved her foot she knocked Remus's foot out of balance and caused him to topple over to the left.

"Lupin, you're out!" James yelled from the side lines.

"Yeah, I noticed," Remus retorted as he picked himself up off the floor.

"Alright, Sirius it's left hand on red," Peter said. Sirius stretched his arm over towards Hermione.

"Hermione, right hand on yellow," Peter said, and then made a little laugh at the position that put the two teens in. Hermione was forced to stretch her body so she was hovering over Sirius's hips in order to reach the appropriate color.

"Fancy meeting you here," she said to him. He grinned up at her.

"Mary, left hand blue," Peter instructed. Mary moved her hand to the correct color, so her hand was underneath Sirius's bum.

"Hey guy, look! My first threesome," he shouted with a cocky grin. All the girls rolled their eyes while all the guys grinned.

"You worded that as if there would be more than one," Hermione teased.

"Ouch,- you wound me," he replied.

"Sirius, right foot red," Peter called. Sirius moved his foot to the appropriate color, but ended up hitting Mary's recently placed hand in the process. She fell to the ground, but she knocked Hermione's hand out from underneath her and sent her falling onto Sirius, flattening him to the ground.

"Ouch, Sirius get off my hand," Mary yelled.

"Well get your hand off my arse," he said back. Mary pulled her hand out from underneath him as Hermione struggled to sit up.

"I knew you'd end up falling for me," he said to her with a cheeky grin. Hermione rolled her eyes and got up off the floor. She extended her hand out to Sirius and pulled him up too.

"Alright, group two you're up!" Peter announced. He was taking his job very seriously.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** Hey guys, I've got another chapter for you. I'm not completely happy with this one, so I might go back and make some changes, but here it is for now. I wanted to get one out tonight because I've got a lot of work for school coming up before the Thanksgiving holiday and I don't know if I'll have time to update before then. If I don't update, then I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. If you don't celebrate Thanksgiving, then I hope you have a happy regular day!

11/25/2017- This chapter used to be chapter 9 but now it's 10. I've added some things to it and edited it a bit.

Disclaimer: I didn't create this magical world. I didn't invent things like Venomous Tentacula, Hippogriffs, or dungbombs. These things belong to the wonderful J.K. Rowling. I did- however, invent a game with my students called Crab Walk Soccer.

Chapter 10

While the second group arranged themselves around the outside of the mat it became apparent that James was the only male.

"Boy, Prongs- you are one lucky bloke," Sirius called to him. James just grinned back and listened to Peter as the game began.

The second round went much the same as the first. After a few minutes it really started to get interesting to watch. Dorcas was already out because she fell down when James accidentally stood on the end of her long hair and when she tried to move she was thrown back onto the mat. Marlene somehow ended up with her body in between James's legs, while James had his hands stretched almost to their full length as he needed to have them on opposite sides of the mat. Lily had her feet underneath her knees and her arms underneath her shoulders, actually looking a bit like a table.

"Lily, left hand on green," Peter instructed. Lily moved her hand closer to James.

"Marlene, left foot on blue," he said next. Marlene moved her foot further away from her body.

"James, right hand on red," Peter called. James moved his hand carefully for two reasons. One was because his balance was slightly off due to the fact that he had Marlene still between his legs. The second reason was because the closest red circle was directly underneath Lily's body. She eyed him warily as he moved his hand underneath her.

"Lily, right leg yellow," Peter said. Lily moved her right leg a little farther away from her body.

"Marlene, right hand on green," Peter called. Marlene moved her hand quickly, but too quickly to see where she was going. Marlene bumped into James and sent him down to the ground. Unfortunately, he was propelled forward onto Lily. Even more unfortunately was the fact that he put his hands out to catch himself. His hands ended up right over Lily's chest as she was also sent crashing to the floor.

"POTTER! GET YOUR HANDS OFF ME RIGHT NOW," Lily hollered at him. Before he could make any kind of movement he was thrown to the side by an extremely red faced Lily.

"Nice one Prongs," Sirius said to his friends. He was silenced by a hit from Hermione, Mary, and Remus, and also a glare that could have melted the entire Arctic by Lily.

" _What_ was that?" she asked, turning back to face James.

"I didn't… I mean I fell and… just trying to stop… was an accident…" He mumbled.

Lily didn't say anything, just continued to glare at him for another moment before she stomped away to the other side of the room.

"I guess I won," Marlene said jokingly. James then turned and gave her a glare.

"I'm guessing the games portion of the evening is done," Sirius announced. "Too bad, I think I'd quite like this game- especially if everyone had been drinking more."

Hermione gave a little chuckle at this, and it seemed to lighten the mood a bit. Everyone had refilled their drinks at this point and was sitting around talking, eating, drinking, and laughing. Lily had started to shake off her anger over the incident when Marlene had brought her over another drink- although she was still sitting as far away from James as she possibly could.

"So, I think it's time for presents," Sirius announced.

"You guys didn't have to get me anything- wait, how did you even have time," Hermione answered.

"Nonsense, it's your birthday. Just be aware, they're not fancy presents," Mary answered.

Mary and Dorcas had given her a set of lotions and bath salts, Marlene had given her a candle, Remus had given her a book on charms, Peter had given her some sweets from Honeydukes, and Sirius and James had given her a selection of joke items from Zonks. However, Hermione's favorite gift came from Lily.

"PENS!" Hermione laughed. Marlene, Sirius, James, Peter, and Dorcas all looked at her with confusion. "They're a writing instrument that muggles use. They already have the ink in them- see," she explained. Hermione grabbed a piece of parchment and made a show out of clicking the end of the pen before she started to write with it. She longer she kept writing the more their faces showed wonder.

"Oh yeah," Sirius said with realization. " I know what those are, I took Muggle Studies," he said pride.

"Yeah," Lily answered.

"And why don't wizards use these? Huh, muggles are so clever," James said as he picked one up and clicked it. He jumped a little bit when he heard the noise, but put it down onto the parchment and wrote with it.

"These are great! Where can I get some," he asked.

"Like a muggle drug store," Hermione said with a shrug.

"What's a drug store," Peter asked. Hermione let out a little laugh.

"I'll take you guys out into muggle London sometime and show you around," Hermione told them.

"Hey, when we go can we look at motorbikes?" Sirius asked.

"Motorbikes? Please tell me you don't want one of those," Lily said with a shake of her head.

"Of course I do. It's like the equivalent of a broomstick for cars," Sirius reasoned.

"What are motorbikes again," Peter asked.

"Remember those pictures I showed you with the muggle girls sitting on them," Sirius asked him. Peter flushed a little.

"Well, I remember the girls," he said.

"Ah, good man Wormtail," Sirius said with a light punch to Peters arm.

The evening progressed as one might assume it would, and after a few more hours everyone was thoroughly pissed. It seemed like all the girls had come down with a case of the giggles, everything sending them into fits of laughter. Except for Marlene, who was had already fallen asleep in the armchair by the fire.

"'Mione, you've _got_ to properly thank your aunt for this birthday celebration. Actually- I think I'd better thank her," Sirius said with a wink that looked like it was more work than it was worth.

"First of all don't call me 'Mione-," she said through clenched teeth.

"Noted," Sirius answered.

"And second, I'll thank her. I don't want to think about what you have in mind when you say 'properly thank' her," Hermione replied with a shake of her head.

"I don't know why you have such an issue that your aunt's fit. I'd snog her- it's true. I'd snog you too," Sirius answered unabashedly.

Hermione just stared at him- not actually believing that he would say that outright, but then she remembered that he was drunk. So was she for that matter.

"Why?" she asked. She never would have had the nerve to ask that if she was sober- but they didn't call it liquid courage for any old reason.

"You're good to look at- and you're not annoying. A lot of good looking birds are a right pain in the ass- but you're not," he said with a shrug. "Plus, you're smart. You don't take shite from anyone and that's hot as hell," he said, taking another drink from his glass. "You've also got a nice arse."

Hermione watched him as he said this, and as she let the words sink in she was also watching his facial expressions. He started out talking to her in a more matter-of-fact tone, but it progressed into something a bit more…passionate. The idea that he was speaking in such a tone about her made the blood run up to her face.

"I… Thank you? I'm not sure if I should be offended at how unfiltered that was or if I should be pleased at the compliments," Hermione finally said in a teasing tone.

"Oh I would be pleased if I were you," Sirius replied in a light tone, but his eyes darkened at bit at the words.

"Alright," Hermione said a little uneasy at the intensity in his grey eyes.

"Now this is where you tell me how sexy you find me," he told her.

Hermione rolled her eyes. While telling him anything of the sort was bound to make his ego grow to roughly the size of a Hungarian Horntail, she also wanted to return the nice- if not somewhat inappropriate- words he said to her.

"You're more than what you see. You are handsome, yes- but you are also kind and intelligent and brave. Those qualities are way more important," Hermione said to him.

There was a moment of silence between them. Whatever Sirius thought Hermione was going to say- this wasn't it.

"Thank you," he said quietly. He knocked back the rest of his glass and then stood up.

"Come on- it's important for the birthday girl to dance at her own party," he said to her as he held out his hand for her to take. She put her hand in his and he led her over to the rest of the group on their makeshift dance floor.

The rest of the evening went by- however, for the occupants of the Room of Requirement it there seemed to be a lack of memory when the morning came. Hermione work up on the floor in front of the fire with the worst headache of her life. She slowly sat up and clutched the sides of her head. It felt like a garden gnome had crawled inside and started playing Yankee Doodle on her temples.

She looked around and saw her friends spread out around her. Lily had fallen asleep on one end of the couch and Mary at the other end. Marlene had curled up in the armchair next to the couch. Peter was on the other side of the room snoozing underneath the table with the food and drink on it and Remus was lying close to her in front of the fire. The most interesting sight was when her eyes landed on Sirius and James, who were snuggled up together on the floor behind the couch.

Hermione let out a little laugh at this sight, but then immediately regretted that decision. Her head was pounding and her mouth felt like it was filled with dust. She got up and walked over to the table that Peter was lying underneath and filled a glass up with water while she tried to remember what had happened during the rest of the evening.

She remembered Sirius suggested a muggle drinking game where they had to throw ping pong balls into cups. After a few rounds of that game everyone was really feeling the effects of the alcohol. Hermione looked around at the room and noticed that it looked more worse for wear than she had remembered.

After the drinking game, there was dancing and more drinking- _Oh!_ Pieces of her memory were coming back to her and she remembered her, Sirius and Marlene actually dancing on top of one of the tables.

Thinking hard while taking another sip of water, Hermione struggled to remember what else happened that night. At that moment Peter let out a particularly loud shore and Hermione felt like the inside of her head was vibrating. She wished she had a pain potion- or even some muggle aspirin.

Suddenly, on the table she was standing next to, a bottle of muggle pain pills appeared. Hermione opened the bottle and took two pills before following them with another sip of water.

"Ugghh…" someone moaned from the couch. Hermione walked over to see that Lily had woken up and was looking the way Hermione felt.

"Here," Hermione said while handing the bottle of pills over to Lily. Lily sat up and took out two from the bottle and swallowed them dry.

"So this is why my parents always told me not to drink," Lily moaned.

"Yeah," Hermione said quietly. "Do you remember what happened?"

"I don't remember anything after James giving Sirius and Remus pony rides around the room," Lily recounted.

"I don't even remember that," Hermione admitted. "Hey, want to see something?" she asked. Hermione motioned for Lily to look behind the couch she was sitting on, and Lily had to slap a hand over her mouth from laughter.

"I knew it!" She whispered.

Hermione and Lily quietly chatted for a while until everyone in the room had awoken.

It was an incredibly amusing sight for everyone when Sirius and James finally decided to wake up. They both stared at each other, trying to remember where they were and what they were doing. When they looked around and saw everyone staring at them they jumped apart quickly, but regretting that movement when they both felt their headaches intensify at the quick motions.

Hermione passed around the bottle of pain pills to her friends, having to explain exactly how to use them to the ones who were raised in pureblood families.

"So, Happy Birthday Hermione," James said to Hermione. There was a murmur of repeated birthday wishes from the rest of the group.

"Thanks everyone. I thought this was going to be a really hard birthday without being with my parents or my friends, but you guys made it one of the best," Hermione admitted.

"Even with this bloody hangover," Sirius said in a mock cheer.

The group made their way down to the kitchen- they didn't want to be anywhere near the Great Hall in their state, and grabbed a quick breakfast. No one was really hungry, but they knew they needed to eat in order to soak up some of the alcohol that was left in their system.

The day was spent resting in their dorms, or hanging out in the common room. Hermione didn't even do any homework. She had done most of it the day before, but she gave herself the day off to recover and enjoy her birthday with her friends.

The next few weeks went by and before Hermione knew it, she had been at Hogwarts for almost a month. It was the last weekend in September which meant that it was her weekend to work at the Three Broomsticks. She also wanted to stop over at the Apothecary and pick up the ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion. The full moon was in about a fortnight so she needed to get working on it.

Hermione was working furiously the next few days in order to get ahead on all of her school work. All her free periods and evenings were spent in the library getting caught up. It wasn't that the work was hard, because she had already done most of these assignments, but there was just a lot of it.

On Saturday morning Hermione woke up early and got ready for the day of work. She showered and dressed in a pair of jean bell bottoms with a long sleeved red long sleeve shirt tucked in and a thick brown belt that she tucked her wand into. Hermione walked down to the common room- at the same time that Sirius and Remus were walking down the boy's staircase.

"Good morning, what are you guys doing up so early?" Hermione asked.

"James- as usual. We left him upstairs because his singing was obnoxiously loud. This morning it was Billy Don't Be A Hero. I also couldn't fall back to sleep because my stomach was practically yelling for breakfast," Sirius explained dramatically.

"Is it really that bad," Hermione questioned.

"I think if a banshee picked up the hobby of tap dancing while also scraping their nails on a chalkboard would just about be an equivalent," he answered with a yawn.

"So you got up to come down with Sirius," Hermione asked as they walked out of the portrait.

"No, I wanted to stay in bed. He pulled the covers off me and pushed me off the bed and threw trousers at me. I tried to get back into bed and he told me he would put the pants on me himself if I didn't get up," Remus said with a glare at Sirius.

"And you believed him," Hermione said with scoff.

"Yeah, I've learned that Sirius only threatens with what he's willing to do. One time James had been in the shower for almost an hour and none of us had been able to wash. Sirius told him that if he wasn't out in the next minute he was going to do it for him," Remus explained.

"And you did," Hermione inferred. She looked at Sirius with disbelief and amusement.

"Oh, it's nothing we all haven't seen before," Sirius said with a wave of his hand. They had sat down at the Gryffindor table and he was more interested in sausage and eggs than in the conversation.

"Okay, anyway- what do you guys have planned today?" Hermione said, changing the subject.

"I have homework- and maybe a trip down to Hagrids. I haven't been down to visit this year," Remus said.

"Oh, he would love that! I went down last weekend, but I know how much he loves visitors. Make sure to ask him about the Thestrals he's training. He's so excited about them," Hermione said.

"Thestrals!" Sirius said through a mouth full of food.

Hermione gave him a disgusted look as she removed the piece of food from the front of her shirt. "Yeah, I guess he just got a whole herd of them. He said they shouldn't be much harder to train than the hippogriffs he's got," Hermione said.

"He's got hippogriffs?" Sirius said. His face looked like a child who was told they that Christmas was coming early this year.

Hermione smiled remembering how Sirius was at taking care of Buckbeak the hippogriff. They became very close while on the run from the Ministry.

"Yeah, I'm sure if you asked him he would show you," she said.

Sirius looked excited, and then his face fell. "I can't this weekend. James and I have Quidditch tomorrow, so I have to get caught up on my homework today. Is it just me or are they laying it on quite thick this year," he said.

"Yeah, I've heard that it's the sixth year when it really starts to pile up," Remus explained.

"So I guess I'll try to go down next weekend. Want to come with me? We could go down and you could be all 'Hey Hagrid, how's the hippogriffs?' and I could be all 'Hippogriffs?' and it'll seem all very unplanned," Sirius said.

"Sure, sounds fun," Hermione said.

"So what are you doing this weekend Hermione?" Remus asked.

"I've got to work. I'm heading down to the Three Broomsticks after breakfast," she said.

"Really? I didn't know that you were still doing that during the school year," Sirius said.

"Yeah, it's just one weekend a month. "

"Maybe I'll come and visit you today. It would be good to take a study break with a butterbeer," Sirius said.

"Why doesn't it surprise me that you know how to get in and out of Hogwarts? It's probably some kind of secret passageway behind a statue that leads into one of the shops or something." She said jokingly.

He froze. "How did you know?"

Hermione then froze. She had been joking. Well, she knew the truth, but she had tried to say it in an offhand way. Did it not come across that way? Did she just royally screw something up?

"Ahh… what? That's true?" she said confusedly.

"No, just messing with you," Sirius said with a smile.

Hermione let out a sign of relief. She needed to be more careful.

"Hey, speaking of Hogmeade. Severus said that there is usually a Hogsmeade weekend just before Halloween, is that right? I'd like to make sure that I'm not working that weekend so I can enjoy the day with my friends," she asked.

"Oh, and did Severus ask you to Hogsmeade while he was at it," Sirius said with a sneer.

"Yeah, and then he took me into the potion ingredients cupboard and snogged me silly," Hermione said sarcastically with a roll of her eyes.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at this. Remus took this as an opportunity to divert the subject.

"Yeah, we talked about it in our prefects meeting last week."

Hermione looked at him and smiled. "Thanks, I'll be sure to tell Rosmerta." She stood up and turned back to look at Sirius. "Listen, I know you don't like Severus, but that doesn't mean it's alright for you to talk about him that way. How would you feel if I were to day that Peter is nothing but a rat bastard," Hermione explained.

Sirius seemed to have a moment of amusement at the _rat_ analogy, but by the time she was done speaking he was scowling.

"I'd love to have you come down for a visit, but only if the attitude is gone. I'll have a butterbeer waiting for you at noon if you can seem to shake it," Hermione said.

Sirius didn't answer, but nodded his head in understanding. Hermione nodded her head back, turned and gave Remus a beaming smile, and walked out of the Great Hall.

When Hermione walked into the Three Broomsticks the first thing her aunt did was give her and hug and asked her how bad her hangover was. Hermione laughed and told her all about the evening and how her friends had thrown her a party in less than a day. Rosmerta was happy for Hermione, but also told her that the alcohol was a one-time birthday present and she shouldn't be expecting random packages filled with firewhiskey.

The rest of her morning at the Three Broomsticks… could have gone better. Starting off the day yelling at Sirius didn't exactly get her in a good mood, and it seemed like it just got worse from there. She spilled a tray full of food when someone pushed their chair out as she was walking by, and then needed to clean it up and put in a new order.

Hermione bent down to and started to pick up the food and dishes. When she leaned down, her long hair was getting in her way and fell into the food she was cleaning. Hermione straightened up and wiped her hair off on a napkin and then she leaned her head back to tie her hair back and was dismayed to find she didn't have a hair elastic.

"You've got to be kidding me," she muttered to herself. And that was in her first 15 minutes.

The rest of the morning didn't go any better. She dealt with a couple who kept sending their food back repeatedly and blamed her for it, the woman who refused to tip her because there wasn't any salt on the table, and she didn't ask for any- and then there was the guy who grabbed her arse. He was immediately asked to leave. On top of that, because she couldn't put her hair up, there was small child who pulled on her long curls as Hermione was serving the food to the table, and refused to relinquish his new toy.

"What happened? Where are all of the interesting people that are traveling and have so many interesting stories to tell," Hermione complained. She was coming back behind the bar to get another set of utensils for table 12. "The only people I've met today are gits. It's been nothing but people complaining. 'There's a spot on my spoon' or 'it's too hot' or even 'there are too many sesame seeds on this bun'".

Rosmerta laughed. "That's during the summer. During the rest of the years it's mostly people from the area," she explained.

"Well, I've decided I don't like it. Son of a B-!" Hermione yelled. She reached for a set of utensils and knocked over a stack of glasses. She felt like it was slow motion that she saw them fall, and yet she wasn't fast enough to do anything about it.

" _Dear!_ Why don't you go and tidy up the store room, I can handle out here for a while. I think you need a break from the public," Rosmerta said kindly as she repaired the broken glasses.

Hermione walked back to the store room and started to unpack the boxes from the delivery they received that morning. Hermione was in quite a mood by that time, and was muttering to herself about this and that. She was on the last box, large cans of sauce, that she was putting on the shelf when-

"Hermione?" a voice said.

She jumped at the sound and dropped the can she had been holding. It fell and landed on her foot. She gave a yelp of pain and looked down at her foot. However, when she looked down her hair was in her face and she inhaled a lock of hair when she yelped. She sputtered and coughed it out of her mouth.

"Are you okay?" the voice asked.

Hermione turned to look at the doorway and saw Sirius standing there trying to look concerned, but a hint of amusement was hiding behind his eyes.

"What are you doing here?" She asked with a scowl.

"Didn't you know I was coming? It's noon," he said sounding unsure. He had been feeling bad about their spat this morning and she was right to yell at him. He had hoped that in coming it would show he was trying to say he was sorry.

"Oh, yeah," she said. She bent down to pick up the can she had dropped, and continued to work on stocking the shelves.

"So, are you okay?" Sirius asked again.

"You know, I hate fighting with you. I've been off all day because of it. Why did you have to start something this morning?" she said, turning back to look at him.

Sirius had the sense to look guilty. "I don't like him, and I don't like that your friends with him," he said quietly, looking down at his shoes.

"Why? That doesn't change anything about my friendship with you," she answered.

He looked up at this- his grey eyes piercing through her. He looked so vulnerable, and so unsure of himself. Hermione felt her resolve weaken when she looked at him.

"I don't know, I've never been good with sharing my friends," he said.

"I'm not something to share. I'm a person that had many sides and interests. I have an interest in potions, which is something Severus shares. But I also have things in common with you. I've never pulled a prank with anyone else," she said with a small smile. Sirius tilted his head to the side- a very dog like action in itself- and then smiled.

"Really, not even with the Quidditch God from your other school?" He said.

"Really, we're back to that?" she said with a sigh.

"I just find it interesting. I can see it now- all the girls in school were probably fawning all over him and he chose you, but for some reason you just didn't fall for his charms. What kind of guy does the mysterious Miss. Granger find attractive," he joked.

She laughed at this and turned around to look at him and say something snarky back. However, when she turned around her hair got caught on a piece of the shelf she had spent the last 20 minutes stocking.

"Owww- fucking piss," Hermione cursed.

Sirius burst into laughter at this, and it was the wrong thing to do. Hermione stuck her hand out at his and have him inappropriate gesture. This only made him laugh harder. Hermione found out where her hair was caught and was now trying to get it untangled.

"What was that for? I don't think I've ever heard you curse like that," Sirius finally said when he calmed down.

"It's been a day from hell since we had our argument this morning. Easily the worst day I've ever had here," she answered. Her voice was getting more and more annoyed because it was hard to see where she was caught and it felt like it was getting more and more tangled. "And to top it all off I forgot a hair elastic today and I've now leaned it in food, had a baby grab onto it, accidentally swallowed it, and now I'm stuck. I hate working with my hair down because it's in my face and I feel like I can't focus."

Hermione heard footsteps coming up behind her and then hands moving hers away from the knot she was working on. Sirius was trying to get her hair free from the shelving unit.

"Thanks," she said. He nodded his head while he worked. After a few moments she felt her hair give way and she was able to move away from the offending piece of furniture. She turned to look at Sirius, who had picked up a bucket and flipped it over.

"Sit," he said to her while pointing to the bucket.

"Why?" Hermione asked.

"Can't you just do something without asking questions?" he questioned back.

She raised her eyebrows up at this, but did as she was asked. She sat facing away from Sirius on the bucket, and faced the doors. Almost immediately, she felt him combing through her locks with his fingers to untangle some of her curls. Any girl will tell you that it feel wonderful to have someone play/touch/comb their hair. But to have a Sirius Black do it, it was almost swoon worthy. Hermione felt each of his touches like electricity. Each time his fingers made contact with her skin, it was like the current was being directed down her spine, and then back up. She shivered when the contact was lost.

"Are you cold," he asked.

"Erm… a little," she lied.

When he was done combing her curls, he picked up a section of hair from the crown of her hair and started to braid it.

"You know how to braid?" she asked- astonished. For as long as she knew Sirius from her time, she had no idea he knew how to braid.

"Yeah, I've got a lot of girl cousins. When we were little they used to make me braid their hair all the time. That was before they all turned into blood purists and would kiss the dirt off of old Voldy's robes," he said. He finished up her braid and took an elastic from his own wrist and tied the end of her hair with it.

"Now," he said. "This is my lucky elastic. I wear this to all of my Quidditch games and exams and any time I think I might need luck. I'm giving it to you for today in hopes it might turn your day around."

Hermione turned to look at him. "So why do you have it today? Did you think you would need luck?" she said teasingly.

"Well, with the way we left things this morning I figured it wouldn't hurt to have a little more luck," he said sheepishly. "We're okay, right?"

She walked over and put her arms around his neck to hug him. He didn't hesitate to hug her back. "Yeah, we're good," she whispered. She felt him give her an extra squeeze in understanding.

They stayed like that for another moment before breaking apart. They were still standing quite close together, staring at each other. Sirius moved his hand up to her temple and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear that didn't fit into the braid.

"You know, you're going to have to do this all the time," she said quietly.

Sirius pulled his hand back and smiled. "Anytime," he answered.

"How about that drink, now?" Hermione asked.

"You mean the firswhiskey," Sirius teased as they walked back into the significantly less crowded pub.

"I would be beyond fired if I gave you firewhiskey," she said with a laugh.

She walked behind the bar and grabbed a butterbeer for him while he walked around to the front to sit in a stool.

"Thanks," he said when she handed it to him. She started to tidy up behind the bar while talking with Sirius. It felt like a weight had been lifted from her shoulders. She always hated when she was fighting with Harry and Ron, and it wasn't any different with Sirius. She felt more ready to handle annoying customers and her head was clearer. But at the same time he was different with Sirius. Everything was always different with Sirius. Teasing remarks always had a hint of something else behind them, touches always lingered longer than necessary, looks always said much more than the words that were spoken.

Hermione looked back over at him. He was leaned back in his chair, one hand holding onto the bottle and the other arm's elbow leaning on the hair next to him. He was singing along to the song that was playing from the radio in the corner.

Hermione found herself thinking about Sirius more and more, and not always as her best friend's godfather. He was different than when she knew him, and it was making it harder for her to think about him in a platonic way.

She closed her eyes and thought about when he was standing behind her and running his hands through her hair. She could smell the cologne he was wearing while he was so close to her and she had to shake her head to clear her thoughts. Now was not the time, especially because he was sitting across the bar from her. Her eyes wandered back to him.

" _Thinkin' of you's workin' up my appetite_

 _Looking forward to a little afternoon delight_

 _Rubbin' sticks and stones together makes the sparks ignite_

 _And the thought of lovin' you is getting so exciting"._

While he was singing quietly, she heard that his voice was deep and sent a shiver through her. It didn't help that the song was uhh… suggestive.

She felt her heart start to race. She had never felt this way about anyone before, and it was quite overwhelming. What was happening to her? How was it possible that him just sitting there murmuring the words to a mildly suggestive song had her ready to snog him senseless.

Looking over at him, she decided she needed him to stop singing before she did something she might regret.

"So, how did the homework go," she asked.

"Ehh… alright. I've had the most trouble coming up with enough stuff to fill the two rolls of parchment for Slughorns essay. I've only got so much to say about boomslang skin," he said with a roll of his eyes.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I have a book from the library in my backpack that might be helpful. I did it last night, I needed to make sure that my homework was done before the weekend because I was going to be working," she said.

"Yeah, that would be great! How late are you working?" he asked.

"I don't know, probably about nine or so. Rosmerta doesn't usually make me stay later than that," she said.

"Nine? It'll be dark by then, is someone coming to walk you back to the school," he said, sounding worried.

"No, but I'll be fine, it's not too far," she said.

"Not these days. It's dangerous to go anywhere by yourself during the day, let alone at night." He stood up. "I'll come back and walk with you. I'm gonna head out now and finish up my work and I'll be back just before nine."

"You don't have to do that, I'll be fine," Hermione insisted.

"Remember our promise, you won't go anywhere along and we won't prank the Slytherins? I think that extends to walking from Hogsmeade to Hogwarts in the dark," Sirius stated.

Hermione tried to stare him down and make him change his mind, but something about the set of his jaw told Hermione that she would have more luck getting a bowtruckle away from fairy eggs than getting Sirius to change his mind right about now.

"Okay- thanks," she said in defeat. Sirius smiled in victory and gave her a wave as he walked towards the door. She watched him walk until she couldn't watch him anymore.

Rosmerta came up behind her at this point, and saw Hermione staring at the back of Sirius Black. She smiled to herself knowingly and gave a little nudge to her niece. Hermione looked up at her aunt, then looked away in blush at being caught staring.

"Quite a sight, isn't he?" she said.

Hermione stayed quite, but the flush on her cheeks seemed to increase somehow. She set to work on wiping down the bar where the object of her blush had just been sitting. Hermione turned and looked at her aunt.

"What do you think of him," she finally asked.

"I think he's a good boy. A bit of a troublemaker, but he's got his head on straight. I've known him a long time now- seen him grow up. I know he hadn't come from the best family, so the fact that he turned out the way that he is- that's practically a miracle in its own. I think you would be good for him, keep him grounded and I think he would loosen you up. Plus, it doesn't hurt that he's fit as all hell," her aunt said.

Hermione nodded her head in understanding and agreement,

"By the way, dear I can't help but notice your hair- when did you learn how to braid?" Rosmerta asked.

Hermione beamed. She couldn't help it, and it was probably a crazy reaction to the question, but she let out a little laugh.

"Uhh… I actually can't braid. I complained to Sirius that my hair was bothering me and I didn't have a hair tie. He gave me his hair elastic and braided it for me," Hermione explained.

"He did that? Dear, don't you ever let that boy go," Rosmerta said. Hermione smiled again and went back to work.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer- I don't make money off of this.

Chapter 11

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly, and to Hermione's relief it was much better than the morning. Pretty soon it was quarter to nine, and there was the sound of the door opening. Hermione looked and saw Sirius making his way towards the bar. Hermione smiled and waved, and he returned the smile.

"I'll be just a few more minutes, I need to clear away a couple of tables and then I can go," Hermione said on her way by.

"No problem, take your time," Sirius said.

Hermione finished up her tables and was finally ready to leave. She waved to Rosmerta and her and Sirius headed to the door. Sirius held it open for her to walk through, and when she walked by he followed.

"So, how was the rest of your day," he asked as they walked up the street towards Hogwarts.

"It was much better, actually. I wasn't reduced to cursing in public the whole time," she said in a voice that clearly said 'be impressed'.

Sirius laughed, "That was bloody brilliant! By the way, I told James what you said and he doesn't believe me," he said.

"Oh great, now you're going around telling everyone about my break down," Hermione moaned.

"Oh no, I didn't say anything about that. I just told everyone you said 'fuck'," Sirius said.

"And that's better?" she questions

"Well, I didn't tell them why. I could make something up. Like… you were giving me this 'come hither' look from across the bar. We finally met and you looked up at me and said 'Sirius, I want you to shag the fu-" .

"Okay!" Hermione shouted. "Tell them about my freak out. I can only imagine where that story was going," she said.

"Oh, I _can_ imagine where it was going," he said and he closed his eyes in a suggestive way.

"Hey, cut it out," she said and lightly hit his arm. Changing the subject, she said "So it seemed like your lucky hair elastic worked."

"Yeah," he said.

"I think it's going to have to become _our_ lucky hair elastic," Hermione joked.

"No way, I've have that since third year. In fourth year, James hid it on me 20 minutes before our fourth year exams. I ended up tracking it down in Moaning Myrtle's bathroom. Have you been in there? I've literally walked through hell for that thing," he said with a laugh.

They reached the front doors of Hogwarts and walked into the Entrance Hall. Sirius grabbed Hermione's hand and pulled her into an alcove off of the hall. Her hand tingled from where he had been holding it, and it felt so cold when he had let go.

Sirius pulled out a piece of old parchment and looked up at Hermione excitedly. "Now, in order for us to reach the common room without getting detention, I've got to let you in on one of the Marauders top secrets. I don't think I need to say it, this must stay between us," he said.

"I promise," Hermione agreed happily. She was excited that she was _finally_ being let in on one of their secrets. Even though she knew them, it was still exciting to know that they were voluntarily telling them to her.

Sirius looked back at the parchment and tapped it, saying "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," he whispered. Lines and dots started forming on the page in front of her. It felt like a lifetime since she had seen this map, and being show it by one of the makers almost made it feel like she was seeing it for the very first time.

"Wow, is this a map of the school?" She asked.

"Yeah, but that's not it. Look closer," he urged her.

She pretended to look closer, and faked a gasp. "Are those people? This map shows where everyone is in the school? Wait, is that Dumbledore?" she asked.

"Yeah, he spends a lot of time in his office pacing up and down," Sirius grinned.

"This is amazing, really extraordinary magic. What did you use to be able to see everyone?" she asked.

"Homonculous Charm," he said with pride.

"That's a really complicated charm! I'm really impressed!" Hermione beamed.

"Now, filch is on the third floor, but if we take this shortcut, we should be able to get by without being caught," Sirius said.

"Or if we were caught, we could just tell them that you were walked me back from work. I'm sure Dumbledore wouldn't mind," Hermione muttered.

"Hey, it's my way or the high way toots," Sirius said. Hermione rolled her eyes and followed the Marauders back to the common room.

When they reached the safety of Gryffindor tower, they slowly made their way to the staircases.

"I'm beat, and I've got to work tomorrow too," Hermione moaned.

"You think that's bad, I've got Quidditch practice with Potter. Instead of homework today he's been working on new strategies and plays and training practices. I'm the one who's in trouble tomorrow," Sirius said.

"When's the first match?" Hermione asked.

"Next Sunday," he answered.

"Well, thanks for walking back with me, and thanks for visiting today and braiding my hair. You know, you'll have to do it again tomorrow," she said with a laugh.

"I was afraid of this," he moaned, but ended up laughing.

She turned to look at him and reached up to hug him. He pulled her close and returned it. When they broke apart, Hermione remembered something.

"Oh, here," she said. She pulled the elastic out of her hair and handed it to Sirius. Hermione started to unweave her long locks until they completely unbound.

"That's better- it always feels so good to take your hair out at the end of the day," she said with a sigh. She smiled at him. "Thanks again," she said and she hurried up the stairs.

The next morning Hermione was up early again for work. She showered and was dressed quickly. She walked down the stairs towards the common room, but stopped when she reached the fork that separated the boys and girls dorms. Last night, Hermione had said she wanted Sirius to braid her hair again, and he had agreed. However, she didn't know if he was remembered or not. She could make do with a pony tail or a top knot, but she enjoyed the feeling of his fingers against her skin and having his body close to hers.

Making up her mind, she headed up the stairs to the boys dorm. Remembering where is was from when she snuck up there to use the Invisibility cloak; she climbed the stairs until she was even with the correct door. However, she would have known which one belonged to Marauders by the simple fact that there was a racket that she had never heard before coming from behind the door, and she had been through a war.

Hermione knocked on the door and waited. After two minutes waiting there, she grasp the door handled and turned it. It opened easily and Hermione poked her head inside.

All of the boys in the dorm were in various states of dress. James kneeling at the end of his bed and was emptying everything out of his trunk onto the floor, Hermione guessed in an attempt to find something. He was half dressed in his Quidditch gear and muttering to himself. During this process however it looked like he had set off a bag of fireworks from inside, and they were now flying around the room and blasting randomly.

Sirius and Remus were standing and jumping from bed to bed in an attempt to catch the fireworks or to put them out. Remus was in his pajamas and Sirius looked like he had been in the process of getting ready for Quidditch as well. He was only wearing pants and an undershirt- Hermione noticed right away- and was cursing up a storm at the offending objects.

While there was so much going on in the room, Hermione took a moment to appreciate the sight in front of her. It wasn't often that she was able to just unabashedly stare at him without being caught, and she was going to take full advantage. Sirius was usually dressed in his Hogwarts uniform, or in his Quidditch robes. She has seen him dressed in muggle clothing too, but nothing quite as revealing as this. His body was toned from playing Quidditch and his skin was still tanned from the summer months.

Shaking her head from her hormone induced haze Hermione looked down at the ground and found Peter's bum poking out from underneath a bed and pulling endless amounts of clothing, bits of parchments, old broken quills, and sweets wrappers from it. He was trying to shout to James from underneath the bed, but was having a hard time being heard because his voice was being muffled, and there was a fourth of July celebration going on inside the dorm.

Hermione took out her wand and muttered " _Immobulus"_ and the fireworks froze in mid-air. Remus and Sirius both stopped and looked around to figure out what happened, and were confused as to why Hermione was in their dorm. She opened her mouth to speak, but was cut off by Peter still yelling from underneath the bed.

"Prongs, I don't see them. Are you sure you didn't leave them down in the changing room?"

"No, Peter. I had them after last practice. Keep looking, they're here somewhere. Mum will lose it if I tell her I lost another pair of gloves," James said from inside his trunk.

Hermione cleared her throat at this, and James whipped his head around to see where it had come from.

"Hermione- what are you doing here?" he asked.

"I wanted Sirius to-" but she was cut off.

"We had plans to walk down to breakfast together, but my tosser of a mate has lost another pair of Quidditch gloves and made me late," Sirius interrupted very quickly.

Hermione smiled at this. So, confident and cocky Sirius Black didn't want his mates to know that he knew how to braid hair. Hmm… what could she do with this information?

Hermione smiled at him and winked- a gesture that she understood that he wanted to keep that a secret. "Yeah, I didn't know if you remembered," she said.

"I'll be down in a minute. I just need to finish getting dressed," he said with an appreciative smile.

"Okay." She turned to walk back down the stairs but didn't get very far. Beside the door was a book shelf that had a bunch of books piled up on it, and in between two piles of books were a pair of gloves. She reached out her and picked them up.

"James, are these what you're looking for?" Hermione asked.

James turned around and his face broke out into a huge smile. He rushed up to her, threw his arms around her middle and lifted her up off the ground.

"Thanks Hermione! Pete, don't worry about it- found 'um!" James hollered at the boy under the bed.

Hermione walked out the door and back down the stairs to sit in one of the chairs in front of the fire. A few minutes later Sirius walked down fully dressed and his broom slung over his shoulder. Hermione stood up to meet him and she followed him out of the portrait.

"Sorry, James had lost his gloves and has spent the last half an hour tearing the room apart to look for them. The git set off his fireworks and didn't even bat an eye. Who knows how long we would have been at it if you hadn't come up," he explained. "It's a terrifying when you think about the fact that he's going to be in charge of the team as _captain_ is a few hours."

"Do you think you'll be ready for the first Quidditch match? It's Ravenclaw, right?" she asked.

"Oh yeah, Ravenclaw will be easy for us, this year. They lost a lot of their best players last year," he said. "It'll be Slytherin that we have to worry about. A few years ago they had a rebuilding year, just like Gryffindor, and they've had enough time to really get into a groove. Plus, although I hate to admit it, Regulus is a damn good seeker," he said with a furrowed brow.

"He is? I didn't know he played. He's a year younger than you, right?" she asked.

Sirius nodded. Before Hermione could ask anything else, he grabbed her arm and she was suddenly pulled to the right and into an empty classroom. She looked around and saw Sirius putting his broom down on the teacher's desk and taking a chair down from the one of the stacks. He set it down on the ground in from of him and waved his hand in a way that clearly said _please sit_.

Hermione arched a brow- and then realization set it. "Really- I didn't think you wanted to."

"Well- it's not something that I go around blabbing," he said. "Do you know how much they would take the mickey if they knew I could do hair?"

She sat down in the chair and immediately felt his hands in her hair. Like last time, he took a moment to gently comb her curls before he started to braid it. Hermione's shoulders instantly relaxed and she let out a sigh. Behind her, she heard a muffled laugh.

"Hey, that's enough from the peanut gallery," she scoffed.

"I didn't say anything," he said with an amused note in his voice. He finished quicker than he had yesterday, which was a bit disappointing for Hermione, but was rewarded with a tingle down her spine when he bent down and whispered in her ear "I know how good it feels," he said.

Now, this sentence isn't particularly seductive. You could be talking about a new pair of socks, or when you finally scratch an itch- but after having someone run their fingers through your hair and then bed down and whisper it in your ear, their warm breath hitting you neck in a tantalizing way- it's seductive as hell.

Hermione turned around to look at him. "You like it, too?" she said quietly. He nodded. She gave him a small smile and said "Then, you'll have to teach me how to do it."

He gave a chuckle and stood back up. Hermione followed and after Sirius retrieved his broom they walked down to the Great Hall together. When they got there they saw all of their friends sitting together. They joined their large group in their morning meal, everyone except for James joining in. He was sitting on the end of the group, slumped over the table with parchment spread out everywhere that had different lines and symbols on them, and the symbols were moving around on their own.

"Then Veronica moves up here to pass but…no that won't work. If Mann catches before we're 60 points ahead then… but it depends on if Veronica… No- but if they start the Hawkshead formation then I'll have Marlene…" he muttered to himself.

"James, it's just practice. You'll be fine," Hermione said from down the table. James looked up and gave a weak smile, and went back his plays.

"You know, it might be hard to believe but last year he was the most arrogant chaser in this school, and would tell anyone- if asked or not- about his fabulous Quidditch skills. Ever since they have given him the position of Captain it's like he's lost his nerve. He's become a puddle of nerves and as much as it _pains_ me to say, I'd rather have him strut around." Lily explained while giving a pitying look to the end of the table where James sat. "He needs to get his confidence up."

Hermione thought about it for a moment. When Ron needed his confidence up, Harry pretended to put liquid luck in his pumpkin juice, and that was enough. What could she do to trick James into getting his confidence up? Hermione finished up breakfast while she formed her plan, and when she was done she got up and sat down next to James.

"Alright," she asked.

"Ugh…" he replied with a grunt.

"You know, I overheard Lily talking with Dorcas the other day. You know, about Gryffindor's chances of winning the Quidditch cup this year. It's tough because Slytherin is so good this year, and you've got a new seeker who needs a bit of training up- plus the fact that this is your first year captioning and Dorcas was saying how she didn't think it was going to happen," Hermione explained.

James' face turned from stressed out, to confused, to angry, and then to defeated. Hermione took a moment to let that sink in before she continued.

"But, then I heard Lily saying that she didn't think so. While she thinks you can be an arrogant toerag most of the time, she did say that when it comes to your job as Captain of the team, she doesn't have any doubts that Gryffindor will win the cup this year. It's the one place that your arrogance is allowed and accepted is what she said," Hermione told him.

James' face during this was almost too cute for words. The second she mentioned Lily his head perked up, and by the time she had finished talking him up, he actually looked like he was strutting around- even though he was sitting. His chest puffed out and he had almost a maniacal grin on his lips.

"Well, I just thought I should tell you. Have a great practice!" she yelled over her shoulder as she started walking towards the door. However, she was stopped in her tracts when Mary called out to her.

"Hey Hermione, I didn't know you knew how to braid," she noticed.

Hermione grinned at this and said "I can't," and with a wink is Sirius's direction she headed out the door.

She had just crossed the threshold of into the corridor outside the Great Hall when she bumped into someone. Giving herself a moment to steady her balance, she smiled when she looked up and saw who she had bumped into.

"You know, we've got to stop meeting like this," she said.

"Say it all you want, but you are the one who keeps bumping into me," Regulus said.

"But then we'd never see each other," she purred.

"Hmm… that would be terrible, wouldn't it?" he laughed, "Where are you headed?" Regulus asked.

"I've got to work this weekend," Hermione explained.

"With your fit aunt," he teased.

"You start talking about my fit aunt and I'll start talking about your beautiful brother," she threatened.

"I don't know, it might be worth it," he laughed.

"So when we first met you didn't want to talk about any part of your family, and now it's okay to say your brother is beautiful," she said with an arched eyebrow.

"This time it's purely for a selfish reason. We've been told our whole lived how much we look alike. Therefore, if were talking about my beautiful me then we're also talking about how gorgeous I am," he quipped. "Speaking if my brother and his friends, I don't think they're too happy with the both of us right now." Regulus inclined his head in a direction behind her.

Hermione turned around and saw the four Marauders carefully watching her. Hermione shook her head and let out a sigh. "They're having some issues sharing me, their new friend, with anyone who isn't is Gryffindor. They'll get over it," she said, turning around. "Speaking of friends," she said in a more serious tone, "I've now had the pleasure of meeting some of your friends. I don't think they liked me too much." She said. Then she added, "And that guys Mulciber is a peach,"

Regulus looked uncomfortable at this. "Yeah, they asked me about you," he explained.

"Well I was told to keep my filthy blood away from you," she said, watching him carefully for any hint of blood prejudice.

He winced at this, but didn't say anything. Hermione took this as silence as permission to continue. "I wanted to give you the chance to end our budding friendship in case it causes you any issues, or you actually feel like the purity of my blood isn't up to standards," she told him.

He looked uncomfortable at this, and looked around to see who was watching them and if they could be overheard. "My friends have their… opinions. We don't always see eye to eye completely. However, there's something different about you. I can't put my finger on it, but I'd like to get to know you more," he finally admitted.

"Good, I'd like that as well. Now that we've got that out of the way, I've got to get going. Being related to the boss only gets me so far," she said to him with a smile and a wave.

"Have a good day and give your aunt a kiss for me," he hollered after her.

"You know my conditions, if I pucker up for her then you've got to moisturize those lips for another Mr. Black," she yelled back.

The rest of her walk down to the Three Broomsticks was uneventful, and judging by the amount of people that were mulling around the town, it was going to be slower paced day, for which Hermione was extremely thankful.

When Hermione walked into the pub looking for her aunt, and found her in the back office.

"Hey, before I forget- there's a Hogsmeade weekend the one before Halloween so I was hoping maybe I could work the weekend before?" Hermione asked hopefully.

"Yeah, Albus gives me the dates of the Hogsmeade weekends in advance so I can plan my staff accordingly. I've already scheduled someone else to work that weekend for you. Enjoy it with your friends. Or maybe a date?" Her aunt replied with a wink. Hermione color at this, but thanked her aunt for her thoughtfulness.

The rest of the day was pretty quiet. Actually, the most interesting part was the arrival of two guests into the pub.

Hermione had been wiping down tables after the lunch time crowd had dispersed and was had just made it behind the bar when she looked up to see two identical red headed gentlemen barging in and shouting loudly at each other.

"Listen, it's a cup. You put something inside of it and it's half full. I don't understand how you're arguing with me on this," the first one said.

"But they're meant to hold liquid, and if it's only half full, then it's half empty," said the other one.

"But you have to start filling it up, first. Ergo- it's half full," the first one replied. They had both reached the counter at that point and turned to look at her. "You're a professional, right? We need a ruling. Is the glass half empty for half full," he said to her.

"Erm… I think it depends on how the person's views. So essentially, both of you are right," she said as diplomatically as possible.

"Really, that's what you're going with? Trying to be as neutral as possible, eh? Come on, give us a real answer, what's your opinion?" said the second red head.

"Well, I personally see the glass as being half full but-"

"HA! Told yeh," the first one said.

"Great, why'd you go and say that for? He's going to be impossible to live with for the next few days," the second one said with a slump onto the counter.

"You did ask…" Hermione reminded. "Anyway, I'm Hermione- Can I get you a drink?" she asked.

"Simply spoofing to meet you, madam- the name's Prewett, Fabian Prewett. And this depressed lump beside me is my brother Gideon," the first one said. "And I'll take a victory butterbeer, if you don't mind. Gid, would you like a consolation prize?" he said to his brother. All she heard was a grunt. "Make those two butterbeers, if you don't mind."

Hermione sucked in her breath quickly and dropped the rag that she had been holding. Ducking down to retrieve it, she took a second to let it sink in. Gideon and Fabian Prewett were legends from where she came from. They had been murdered by death eaters, Dolohov if she wasn't mistaken, but they had taken five of them down with them. They were also the brothers of Mrs. Weasley, and Fabian was the owner of the watch that she had given Harry for his 17th birthday. Steeling her nerves, Hermione stood up and put a smile on her face.

"It's nice to meet you guys," she said. She went over to the other side of the bar to retrieve their butterbeers, popped the tops, and walked them back over to their owners. Fabian handed her the correct change and took a long sip from the bottle.

"Ahh… victory never tasted so good. So, Hermione- you new here? Giving old Rosie a hand, eh?" Fabian then asked her.

"Yeah, I started over the summer, but Rosmerta's actually my aunt, so I'm happy to help when I'm not in school," she told him.

"Rosie's niece- here that Gid?" Fabian said to her and gave her a once over. "I guess the apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Or, is apple the right term? What about the cantaloupe doesn't fall far from the honey dew tree? Is that better when talking aunts and nieces?" he scratched his chin.

"Well, that's three for three," Hermione said to herself.

"What was that, love?" he asked.

"Nothing, just muttering to myself about all the men who have the hots for my aunt," she said. "I'm considering making a tally sheet," she added.

"That many, eh? I don't know what it is about her, but she a sauce little minx. Gid here always had a soft spot for here while we were at Hogwarts," he said.

"You guys went go Hogwarts? How long ago?" she asked.

"We graduated a couple of years ago, and made quite the reputation for ourselves if I do say so myself," Gideon finally said, perking up at the mention of their old Hogwarts days. "We had the most accumulated detentions by the time we left than any other students before," he told her proudly.

"There are a group of boys in my year who I believe are striving for the same record," Hermione laughed.

"What year are you?" Fabian asked.

"Sixth."

"Hmm… I bet it's those Gryffindor guys, those four who named themselves… oh what did they call themselves…" Gideon trailed off.

"The Marauders," Hermione offered.

"That's it! Yeah, it's them," Fabian asked.

"Yeah, and by the sound of it they might break your record by the time they graduate. They had a detention last weekend for installing kitty doors in McGonagall's office and classroom," she explained to them.

Both men burst into laughter, their faces turning red and holding onto the counter for support.

"You're joking, right? That's brilliant! As great as we were, I've got to hand it to them. They came up with some pretty great pranks. One time, just before the last Quidditch game of the season- Gryffindor vs. Slytherin- they charmed the front of the Slytherin teams robes to say 'Slytherout' instead of 'Slytherin'", Gideon told her.

Hermione let out a little chuckle at this. What? It was funny, and she'd never tell the Marauders that.

"So, if you guys have graduated already, what is it that you do?" Hermione asked.

"We're Aurors," they said together.

"You know, I know another set of twins who talk at the same time like that and even though we've been friends forever, it doesn't make it any less creepy," she said- thinking about Fred and George and how she was actually talking and laughing with their uncles.

"We've been told," they said together again. Hermione let out a laugh.

"So, is it just you two, or do you have triplet hiding out somewhere?" she asked.

"Just the two of us, well we have a sister- but she's off and married and just popped out her third son," Fabian explained.

"Really- three boys? Is that common?"

"I guess so. The bloke she married- a Weasley- it's said that there hadn't been a girl born to a Weasley for quite a few generations. But Molls has always wanted a girl, so they say they're gonna try until they get on," Gideon responded.

"Hmm… I think they'll have one," she said finally.

"I hope so," he said. Hermione chatted with the two men for a little while longer before they said their good byes- now arguing about when Molly was going to have a girl.

"I think it'll be the next one, you can't have four boys in a row," Gideon was saying.

"Nahh… I bet it won't be until number five. I think she's got another boy in her," Fabian said.

"I think for her next pregnancy- it will be twins," Hermione yelled across the bar.

Gideon and Fabian looked back and her and then to each other before saying "Wicked," and left talking about the probability of twins. Hermione smiled to herself, and went back to work swimming in her thoughts.

What are the chances that she would run into the Prewett twins? Hermione had been missing the Weasley family as of late, and this was a nice encounter, even if it wasn't quite long enough or the members that she desperately missed. Hermione thought about their encounter, wondering if there was a way to get to Mr. and Mrs. Weasley through her brothers. Deciding to think on that, she let her work carry her away.


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N:** So it's almost midnight here and I've been writing for a few hours. I really wanted to finish updating everything for you guys before I went to bed and this is what I have. I will go back in the morning and make more changes and edits. Again, very late at night. So hang in there with me on the typos and mistakes and just enjoy =]]

Disclaimer- I didn't create this wonderful word, I just write about it. I did create some lovely little reindeers made out of corks today, though!

Chapter 12

Not long after the Prewett twins left Rosmerta came over to her and told her she could take her break. Hermione grabbed her beaded bag and practically ran out of the pub. She walked down the street until she reached the apothecary shop. With the list of ingredients she needed in hand Hermione would need in order to brew the Wolfsbane potions.

She pushed open the door and heard a familiar bell sound. The place smelled a little musty when she walked in, but as she started to walk around the shop the smells became interchangeable. At times it would be more floral scented, or woodsy, or even metallic at times. She walked over to the counter where a young man stood.

He looked to be a little older than her, and he was quite good looking. He had chocolate brown hair that had been cut quite short on the side but left longer on top. The placement of his hair on his head gave the impression that he pushed it back out of his face often. His face was young looking, which was probably the reason why he covered it with stubble. It gave him the appearance of actually looking his age. On his shirt there was a name tag that said 'Benjy'.

"Hi, how can I help you," he asked with a polite smile.

"I'm looking for these ingredients, can you help me?" she asked. Hermione handed over the list to the boy young man. He perused it and after the first few ingredients he raised his eyebrows and looked at her.

"Well, this is quite the combination, what are you making?" he questioned as walked around the counter and started to move about the shop and collect the ingredients she required.

"I'll let you know when I find out," she answered in an attempt at offhandedness.

"Ahh… so you're an experimenter," he teased.

"I guess you could say that," she said back as she looked around at the shelves around her.

"Can you say anything that isn't evasive or vague," he yelled from the other side of the store.

Hermione smiled to herself at this. Turning to look at him she simply said, "Can you ask me something that I can answer without evasive or vague replies?"

"How about a name," he said to her when he reached the counter again. He had a small pile of things in his hands and he set them on the counter and began to add up her total.

"Hermione Granger," she told him. "And your Benjy," she inferred pointing to his name tag.

"Are you in town for work or pleasure," he asked.

"Both and neither at the same time," she said. She paused for a moment, but it was just long enough for him to give her a frustrated look. "I go to school at Hogwarts but I work at the Three Broomsticks a weekend a month and I'm on my break from work right now. As for why I'm in the shop, I needed a few things for a potion that I'm making," she continued.

"Really? I graduated from there two years ago and I never knew that they would let you leave if you had a job." He picked up her items and started putting them into a bag.

"Well I'm a special case. I transferred here form Beauxbatons and I moved in with my aunt Rosmerta over the summer. I have to work to be able to afford my schooling," Hermione explained.

"Oh yeah- I heard that there was a new girl at the Three Booms but I didn't know it was Rosmerta's niece. Why'd you have to transfer?"

"Well… there was an accident and my parents died," she answered quietly.

"Oh shite, I'm sorry," Benjy said suddenly. This was the first time he had lost his cool and calm demeanor. He looked almost horrified at the turn the conversation had taken. "I didn't…I mean I wouldn't…" he muttered. He kept running his hand through his hand- a nervous action Hermione guessed. But it wasn't like James used to do; it was more like a comforting movement.

"It's alright, you didn't know. I'm okay- I actually like living with my aunt. She's really nice and a little nutty, just like an aunt should be," she added with a grateful smile.

"Yeah, I've known her for a while. My dad owns the shop so she's known me since I was a little kid. How do you like it here?" Benjy asked. He told her the total for her items and she handed over the gold. She would only be able to afford this a few more times. Maybe she could talk with Rosmerta and work more hours during the Christmas holidays.

"It's been good so far, I really like Hogwarts." She told him. He asked her what house she was sorted into. "Gryffindor, but I've made some new friends in all of the houses." She told him.

"Any boyfriends," he said with a raised eyebrow. He had put away the gold she paid with and handed her the bag with her purchases.

Hermione shook her head. She felt like she had been asked about boyfriends more time in his decade then she ever had in her entire life in the future. "Nope, not yet."

"Pretty girl like you, they should be knocking down the doors for you," Benjy said. Hermione flushed at this. She was never comfortable with compliments from anyone, let alone a stranger she had just met.

"You like working here?" She asked him as a change of subject.

"Yeah, it's an interesting place to work. You were here during the summer, right?" She nodded her head. "Then you probably know what I'm talking about; it' always fascinating to meet so many different witches and wizards from foreign countries."

"I was saying that to my aunt just yesterday," Hermione agreed.

"Have you been able to get a look at the town?" He was looking down at what he was doing but looked up at her through thick eyelashes.

"I did all my school shopping at Diagon Alley so this is the first time I've really been able to do any shopping around here. I can't wait for our Hogsmeade weekend so I can get a chance to look around," Hermione told him.

"It's the weekend before Halloween, right?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said to him with a questioning tone.

"If you want I could show you around," Benjy said casually. Hermione looked up a little shocked. Was he asking her out? Hermione didn't have a lot of experience with dating, so it was difficult for her to navigate these things. She also didn't care for being unsure- facts and absolutes was where she was most comfortable.

"Like a date?" she replied nervously.

He smiled back at her. "If you want, or it doesn't have to. I know it can't be an easy transition for you- I thought having a tour guide might help," he explained.

Hermione didn't really need a tour around the small wizarding village- she had been coming here since she was thirteen. However, there was something very interesting about this guy. He was charismatic and there was something very warm and welcoming about him.

She was also feeling a little guilty at even _thinking_ about accepting. Hermione was having a hard time sorting out her feeling about a certain raven haired boy at the moment. There were a lot of things going on in her life and the last thing she had time for was worrying about boy trouble. Did she want Sirius to ask her to Hogsmeade… maybe? She knew that she starting to like him… but did that mean she wanted it to go any further than a crush? If something happened between her and Sirius _now,_ would it be detrimental to the future? There were too many questions that she needed answers for when it came to her and Sirius and she couldn't make any decisions without having all the facts first.

However, a possible-maybe- I don't know- with a nice guy couldn't be harmful to the future, could it?

"Sure, I'd like that. What time?" She finally decided.

"How about noon? Want to meet at the Three Broomsticks?" Benjy questioned.

"Sure," she said with a nod of her head. She picked up the pocket watch necklace and saw the time. "I've got to go- breaks almost up. So I'll see you the Saturday before Halloween at noon?" she asked in confirmation.

"I'll be there," he told her with a smile- which she returned. Hermione headed out the door and back to the Three Broomsticks.

The rest of the afternoon came and went without much excitement. Hermione was actually just sitting at the bar charming napkins into the shape of swans and letting them flutter around the bar.

By the time nine o'clock came around there was only one person in the bar, and he was there to walk Hermione back to the castle.

"Well, I think I'll close up for the evening," Rosmerta said. "Would you guys like a butterbeer to go?"

"Sure," Sirius answered. They took their butterbeers and headed out the door. The two sipped their drinks as they walked, they talked about mindless things. Sirius checked the map and they made it up to Gryffindor tower without being seen.

"I can't wait to crawl into bed. These weekends are going to be hard to get used to, on top of all my school work and everything else," Hermione said.

"Yeah, and I've got Quidditch practice," Sirius added.

"How did it go today?"

"Actually, it went really well. I think we'll have a few more this week and be ready for the match. James came up with some really good plays today and it's the best the team's looked so far," he explained.

Hermione smiled to herself. Something she said to him must have worked!

"What's that look for?" he asked.

"Ohh… nothing really," she answered.

"So how was work today," he said.

"Much better than yester, thank god! It was a lot slower- which was just fine by me. And there were these two guys who came by and we talked for a while," Hermione said.

"Two guys?" Sirius asked with a hint of jealously.

"Yeah, and I think you know them. They're twins-Gideon and Fabian," she told him as they walked through the portrait hold.

At this his face brightened up. "Really, they stopped by? Brilliant- those guys are great. We actually learned a lot from them about pranking and the secrets of the castle," he told her.

"Yeah, they were telling me about their detention record and I mentioned that I knew some people who were trying to break it, and they had just served detention for installing kitty doors for McGonagall. They thought it was brilliant and wished they have thought of something like that," she explained.

"Really- those guys were legends! Thanks for talking us up," he added. They walked to the stairs, but stood there to finish their conversation.

"You guys weren't the only ones they were talking up. Can you answer something for me- what is it about my aunt that guys find so attractive?" Hermione pleaded.

"I don't think it's any one thing. First, she's in charge of the liquor- that's hot. Then she's got this attitude and sass to go along with it, which makes talking to her a challenge- but in a good way. She's also got a nice rack," he said with a wink.

"Ugh… Gross. But I guess very flattering," Hermione thought.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Well Fabian said that the cantaloupe didn't fall far from the melon tree- or something like that- meaning that he thinks I'm just as fit as my aunt. Which, in one way is super weird, but in another way it's a complement," She told him.

Sirius scowled at this. "He was hitting on you? He's too old for you," he said to her.

 _And in my time you're in your late thirties_ she thought to herself. "I never said I was interested. It's just nice to hear someone complement me. Everyone is always all over Rosmerta- it's nice to be thought of once in a while," she admitted.

"Well I told you how nice I thought your arse was at your birthday party."

"You remember that?" she asked.

"Well yeah, I said that and then you said…stuff," he reminded her.

Sirius looked at her intensely. "Listen, don't compare yourself to her. Your beauty is very different from hers, and you should never feel like you're less than her or anyone else," he said to her.

Hermione's cheeks flushed, but she couldn't look away from his grey eyes. When they bore into her like that it was impossible to look away, and she didn't really want to. She stared at him for a moment before she attempted to speak.

"Thank you," she said quietly. Hermione put her hand on his forearm and ran it down his arm until she clasped his hand with hers. She gave it a squeeze in appreciation. In turn, he brought their joined hands up to his mouth and kissed the back of hers. Hermione's cheeks flushed a little more, but she smiled shyly up at him.

"Well, good night," she said to him as she turned up the stairs. When she had turned away, she brought the hand that he had kissed up to her chest and clutched it there, the spot where his lips had been left a tingling sensation.

Hermione finally changed into her pajamas and crawled into bed she was exhausted from a long day of work. Despite the exhaustion, she fell asleep with thoughts of a certain raven haired boy running through her head.

A few days later Hermione was sitting at dinner with her friends minus James and Sirius. They were being held back by McGonagall. They were practicing human transfiguration on each other and when the boys had finished their task of changing their partner's appearance to the diagram that McGonagall had drawn on the black board, they decided that this was a time to get creative. And by creative, they just practiced giving each other breasts of varying sizes and shapes. The strict Professor hadn't noticed until the end of class when they couldn't reverse their handiwork as quickly as they could apply it.

The boys showed up a few minutes after the group had settled down.

"Detention," Hermione asked.

"Yeah, but totally worth it," Sirius said as he high fived James.

"Honestly, how is it a surprise that we wouldn't use that spell in that context?" James said rhetorically. "I'm just surprised that more of her students haven't been caught doing it," he explained.

"It's because it was gross and creepy what you guys were doing," Lily shot at them. James looked ashamed at this, and it broke Hermione's heart. Did she think it was appropriate to do in class? Absolutely not; however, she just hated to see him look like that. Being friends with Harry and then being friends with James just made it doubly hard for her to see either of them sad. It was like seeing James upset made her think about James being upset but also thinking about Harry being upset.

"While I agree with you on this point, Lily; I also agree with James. The only difference is that these two," she pointer her finger at the two dark haired boys, "Were dumb enough to do it right in McGonagall's class. All the other boys probably will do with in their dorms or in the bathroom," she admitted.

Sirius and James broke out into identical grins.

"Blimey- we hadn't even thought about that!" James laughed while Sirius said to Peter at the other end of the group "Wormtail, take notes."

Hermione though for a moment, and then her face flushed and she covered her hands with her face. Everyone at the table was laughing at the situation now, and Hermione felt the need to explain herself.

"I meant in the bathroom like… being in front of a mirror. Not so that you can… you know- change _that_ ," she mumbled.

"No, really- I like the way you think kitten," Sirius said with a wink.

Hermione sighed and rolled her eyes. Explaining herself any more was only going to make their teasing worse, so Hermione decided to change the subject. "When is your detention?"

"Tonight," James explained. "I'm glad I didn't schedule Quidditch practice."

"Ooh, speaking of detention- did Sirius tell you who I met at work the other day?" she asked him.

"No, who?"

"Gideon and Fabian Prewett," She answered.

"What? No way- those guys were awesome. What are they up too?" He said excitedly.

"They're working for the ministry- Aurors," she explained.

"Brilliant, they always said that was what they wanted to do," Remus said.

"They seemed like quite the characters," Hermione laughed.

"They were also quite fit," Dorcas interjected.

"Yeah, double trouble," Mary agreed. She started using her hand as a fan- indicating her opinion that the twins were hot.

"How did they look," Marlene asked.

"Eww… we don't want to hear this," Sirius whined. He put his hands over his ears in protest.

Hermione looked between the boys and the girls before deciding to answer. "They looked fine from where I was standing," was what she said. The girls dissolved into giggles while the boys rolled their eyes. Talking about the Prewetts made her think about another good looking young man she met while in Hogsmeade.

"Hey, do you guys know a guy names Benjy? He said he graduated two years ago?" she asked.

"Hmm… do you mean Benjy Fenwick? Yeah, he was fit too. I think he played on the Quidditch team, didn't he?" Mary answered.

"Yeah, he was a chaser," James told everyone.

"Why do you ask?" Lily wondered aloud.

"Well I had to go to the apothecary during my break the other day and he was working there. He seemed nice and we got to talking," Hermione told them. "He offered to show me around on our Hogsmeade weekend."

The girls instantly became extremely interested in this new boy. They wanted to know every detail of their conversation down to the inflection on the words he said. The boys on the other hand were looking quite bored.

"Do you think it's a date," Lily asked.

"I don't know. I asked him that and he said it either could or it couldn't, but we never clarified." Hermione told the girls.

"I think it's a date," Mary said confidently.

"What are you going to wear?" Dorcas asked.

"What? It's a month away. I haven't a clue," Hermione said honestly. Mary and Dorcas shook their heads and started chatting away about possible outfit ideas for her. Hermione shook her own head before looking back on Lily.

"What do you think," Hermione asked.

"I didn't really know him that well, but he was always seemed nice. One time I dropped my book bag ripped and he helped me pick them up," Lily offered.

Hermione too this information in and then chanced a glance towards where the boys were sitting. Sirius was looking sullen and was picking at his food. James kept shooting glances at his best mate in a worried fashion. Remus was looking between Sirius, James, and Hermione with a confused look. Peter was listening to Mary and Dorcas talk about fashion and was asking questions here and there about different trends.

"So James, were you on the team with Benjy?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, but only for a year," he explained.

"What did you think of him? Basically I just need to know if he's a nutter or not," Hermione tried to joke.

"He was a decent bloke. He date one girl for a few months that year but that was it. Never any rumors going around about bad dates or anything. He got good grades and was captain in his 7th year." James told her.

The rest of dinner went by and nothing else was mentioned about her meeting with Benjy Fenwick. However, that didn't mean it was a picnic. Sirius was in a bad mood for the rest of the evening and after he had snapped at everyone a few times they just decided to ignore him and give him space. He left for detention before James did and stomped all the way to the portrait hole.

When they left for detention, Hermione didn't last down in the common room for very long. Dealing with Sirius's bad mood had effectively soured hers. She went up to the dormitory and settled down onto her bed. She decided to write a letter to her aunt so she opened her night stand drawer and looked for some stationary she kept in there. However, something caught her eye. There some something shining from underneath some papers in the back of her drawer. Hermione reached back and pulled out the shard of mirror. She saw the right side of Sirius's face in the piece of glass. Taking a moment to decide what she should do, she grabbed her want and silently cast undid the silencing spell she had previously paced on it.

"- don't know what you want, Padfoot." James was saying.

"I just… He's too old for her," Sirius exclaimed.

"He's only three years older than her," James argued.

"Well, that's quite a lot. Plus, she's new in town. He just jumped on her the first chance he got!" Sirius said. Hermione scowled at this.

"I don't know what you want me to say," James said dejectedly.

"I think he's too old for her and it's inappropriate for them to go on a date," He answered.

"We don't know if it is a date," James explained. He took a breath and then said tentatively, "You know, you could have asked her to go with you." Hermione held her breath at this. She subconsciously thought that if she didn't breathe she would be able to hear his answer better.

"That's not the point," Sirius said quietly.

"Tell her you fancy her and maybe she'll cancel her… thing with Fenwick and go with you instead," James said hopefully. "I hate to say it but you sound…jealous."

"I'm not jealous… and I can't ask her to go… not that I would. I already asked Miranda Greengrass," Sirius answered defensively. Hermione opened her mouth to start yelling before she realized that they probably couldn't hear her. However, on the off chance that they could- it wouldn't be a great idea to reveal that to them. She would have to answer some questions that she was not prepared too.

"So you don't want her to go with someone else, but you don't her to go with you either? Mate, you've lost it," James confessed.

Sirius took a deep breath and then let it out slowly like he was trying to filter out his emotions. "I don't like… sharing," He finally said.

"Sharing? You feel like you're sharing her with the rest of us?" James asked. "Mate, that's messed up. She's a person- and if I know her she wouldn't like you talking like that."

Hermione's face then contorted into an expression that couldn't possibly be explained. She was angry at Sirius's statement but then overjoyed to hear James defending her. Annoyed that she had already talked to him about this but happy that James seemed to understand her so well.

Hermione saw a lot of similarities between Sirius and James that she did between Harry and Ron. They both came from rough home lives and were practically adopted by their friend's family. They were thick as thieves and always getting into trouble together, and Harry/ James always seemed to understand her better than the Sirius/Ron counterpart did. They were the ones jumping to conclusions and getting into arguments with her.

"I know she's a person, Prongs. I just… ugh. I'm being ridiculous, aren't I?" Sirius finally concluded.

"You're _barking_ mad," James grinned.

"I've got a date for the Hogsmeade weekend and so does Hermione. It's fine; I just got a little carried away. I think I'm worried about her." Sirius said, more to himself than to James.

"You guys will have a great time on your dates," James added.

Sirius nodded his head before waving good bye to James. Then the mirror just showed a piece of her reflection.

Okay, so he wasn't jealous. He already had a date to Hogsmeade and he didn't fancy her. Well, now she had her answers. Hermione liked facts and now she knew. She wasted all that time feeling guilty about accepting a date with someone when she had feeling for another person but she just needed to brush those feeling aside. She was going on her date… or whatever it was, with Benjy and she was going to have a good time and she wasn't going to think about Sirius Black.


	13. Chapter 13

**A/N:** I feel like I'm on a roll! This one was kind of fun to write and I've started working on the next chapter already! Thanks for reading =]]

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. I do own a lot of unused school supplies and a large variety of hand bags!

Chapter 13

The next day Hermione had a free period during the morning and one in the afternoon. She took this time to run up to the Room of Requirement and start working on the potion for Remus. She got out her bag of ingredients that she had purchased from the apothecary and lit her caldron.

She read and reread the directions to the potion before she started to add anything. About a half an hour later the book said it needed to simmer for three hours before she needed to come back and stir it and add to it. There would be just enough time for her to go to lunch and her afternoon class before quickly coming back up here.

Hermione waited for it to turn turquoise before she lowered the flame from under the caldron and let it simmer. She had three hours and then she had to be back. It was a little over a week before the next full moon and Hermione didn't have the time or the gold to make a mistake and render her first attempt ineffective.

Opening the door a sliver, Hermione looked around to make sure the coast was clear before slipping into the hallway and heading to Charms. She had almost made it to the classroom before trouble had found her. Hermione had now began to wonder if this was what Harry felt like, when every time you turn around and there was something else to worry about or deal with.

"Well, look how we have here. Where are you going mudblood?" Mulciber asked her.

"I'm going to Charms, thanks," Hermione answered briskly and made to move past them. However, Avery and Nott had blocked her way. She took a deep breath and saw that Mulciber had come up behind her so she was blocked from exiting that spot in the hallway.

"I don't think so. Remember our first little chat- where I told you to keep your filthy blood away from Black? I've heard that you're not exactly abiding by our agreement," He sneered.

"Huh, that's funny. I believe an agreement is when two parties come to the same conclusion on a subject and follow the decided upon rules involved. What happened during our last little 'chat' was you telling me to stay away and me telling you to mind your own business," Hermione explained.

Mulciber took a step forward, his body now less than two feet from hers. "Listen here you little bitch. When I tell you to do something I expect that you listen. It's time you learned to respect your superiors," he spat.

"I respect someone when they have done something worthy of respecting." Hermione said simply. "Now if you three don't mind I'm going Charms before any of you come up with another insult to throw upon my person, or even worse I'm late for class," Hermione announced.

"Oh, I don't think you're going anywhere," Mulciber threatened.

Hermione huffed in indignation. Honestly, what was it going to take? She didn't want to do it but she thought she could do with a distraction so she could slip away. She also really just wanted to teach Mulciber a lesson. Hermione whipped out her wand.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding. I know you heard what I said so I have to guess that it's a language barrier causing the confusion," Hermione said.

"What language barrier, mudblood. We both speak English," Mulciber said confusedly.

" _Linguam interpretari tempus,_ " Hermione cast. All three boys at this point flinched and waited for the spell to cause them some kind of pain or discomfort. When nothing seemed to happen they all started laughing at her. Hermione just waited patiently for them to realize what had happened to their leader.

"The mudblood can't even cast a proper spell," one of the ones behind her roared.

"Ich habe immer gesagt, dass sie nicht hierher gehören," Mulciber said through his laughter.

The two boys behind her stopped laughing at this, but this was the time when she started to giggle. She turned around to look at Avery and Nott with a mock serious face.

"In case you didn't understand that, he said to stop laughing," Hermione began. The boys now looked extremely confused.

Mulciber, on the other hand, was now red in the face with anger. He had figured out what she had done to him and was spurting out- what she assumed- were profanities. Hermione turned back to him and started to explain.

"You know, I thought that our issues were a difference of attitudes and beliefs, but now I understand it's just a language issue. You didn't understand me and I didn't understand you. This is much better for our communication. Although, it might be tricky with everyone else- I know! I'll translate for you," she said. She cast another spell and there were now words floating over Mulciber's head every time he started to talk.

While he continued to shout at her, the words over his head said things like 'I need a hug' or 'Don't you gentlemen look spiffing today' and 'Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down'.

When Avery and Nott saw these words they both pointed to the words above Mulciber's head and tried very hard to hold in their laughter. It wouldn't do to laugh at their ringleader when he was this thunderous. Mulciber noticed their laughter and looked up to see what was written. Hermione used this moment to slip through the group and made her way safely to the Charms classroom.

Hermione was there early and settled into her seat. She pulled out her Charms book and looked over the material they would be working on today. They were practicing turning household charms today, and Hermione had leaned quite a few of them already from spending so much time with Mrs. Weasley- who in her opinion should own a Master's degree in anything related to household spells.

Lily, Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene walked into the classroom eventually and two out of the three were laughing t something. Dorcas and Marlene were holding onto each other in an attempt to keep themselves upright because they were laughing so hard. Lily looked like she was trying not to laugh, and Mary was looking torn between terrified and amusement.

"What's so funny," Hermione asked.

Marlene took a deep breath before trying to explain. "Someone charmed Mulciber to talk in a different language- but there are all these funny translations that float above his head. When we walked by we saw him yelling at Avery and Nott but above his head said 'If you like piña-coladas and getting caught in the rain'," she laughed.

"It was brilliant! I wonder who he pissed off," Dorcas chuckled.

Slowly Hermione raised her hand.

"You!" Lily gasped.

"Guilty. But to be honest he was being a complete prat. He kept calling me mudblood and threatening me. He had done that to me before and I was able to shake him off. I don't think he was going to be that easy this time. Plus, he deserved it," She answered. Her eyes floated towards Mary briefly. Lily noticed this and her face softened.

"He's a git and probably deserved it," Lily concluded. The girls in the room looked at her like she had completely lost it. "What? I know I don't like pranks-especially mean ones. And I've yelled at Potter and Black for such behavior but there is something about Mulciber that I just can't…" Her voice was like steel when she trailed off.

"I know what you mean. You've had to deal with him for 6 years. I barely lasted month," Hermione admitted. At that moment the Marauders came into the room- however it wasn't a pretty picture. Remus and Peter were doing much the same as Marlene and Dorcas did- they were holding onto each other and keeping on another upright.

James and Sirius were another story. They both crawled into the classroom very ungracefully. They kept falling down to the ground and struggled to get off the ground again. Hermione waited almost two minutes before she could even hear herself enough to ask a question.

"Something funny?" she asked.

"Mulciber… German… socks…"James panted.

"Huh?" Lily said impatiently.

"What he means is," Remus started. He was calming down enough to be able to make coherent sentences. "What he means is Mulciber must have pissed someone off royally," he said finally.

Hermione smiled but didn't off any explanation. Instead she asked another question.

"Why? What happened?"

"Well, he was speaking in... German I think. Anyway, he's screaming at this group of fourth years who were laughing at him. He's got this translation bar above his head and it kept flashing different things like 'I bet Dumbledore is the little spoon' or 'Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain' and 'The sun will come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow'," Peter explained.

"It was brilliant!" Sirius managed to say.

"Okay, that doesn't explain about the socks," Dorcas asked.

"Oh, yeah! So Mulciber was yelling at the fourth years and McGonagall heard the entire racket. She told Mulciber to cut it out or she would give him detention when the translation thing said 'I wonder McGonagall wears socks to bed' and she started yelling at him. Got him detention and everything," Remus told them.

Hermione was feeling a little unsure about the whole thing now. She had only cast the spell for it to last an hour because she didn't want to cause too much chaos. However, it sounded like Mulciber was going to be _really_ mad about this situation when he sees her again.

"Man, if you guys find out who did this to him you have to let me know. I've got to send them a fruit basket or something," Sirius laughed.

The girls then started to giggle at this and all turned their heads towards Hermione. Hermione just gave the boys a guilty smile. It took a moment or two before they realized what the girls were silently trying to tell them, and that lead them into another fit of laughter.

"You?" James asked.

"Well he was being a prat," Hermione defended.

"Bloody brilliant," Remus breathed through fits of laughter.

"Let's just keep this between us for now. I don't want the whole school to know what I did," Hermione said quietly.

"I know one thing, Mulciber won't say anything. He wouldn't want anyone to know that you got the better of him," Sirius said. His laughter instantly stopped and he looked like he was worried. "You've got to be careful. He's going to want to get revenge for this."

Mary made a little squeak in from beside Lily. Hermione turned to her and gave her a compassionate look. Hermione turned back to the boys with a determined expression. "I've dealt with bullies at my old school and I know how to handle myself," she said. Hermione grabbed her arm where her scar was and unconsciously rubbed it. Remus noticed this uncommon action, but didn't ask about it. "I've dealt with the blood purist before and I'm not going to be afraid of them. I have spent too much time shying away from their insults and it's time for someone to show them that they've got to stop what they're doing." She said finally.

They all looked at her warily before Mary spoke up. "Good."

Hermione turned around and smiled at the girl. The rest of the class started to file in at that point and the Marauders took their seats next to the girls. About half way through the class Hermione got a note slipped onto her desk in front of her. She opened it and it was a list of different fruits with boxes next to them. The note said for her to check the ones she liked.

Hermione looked around and found Sirius's eyes staring at her. She smiled at him and he winked back. Hermione check the ones that she liked- and then scribbled something else at the bottom of the note. _Don't forget, chocolate is a fruit too._

She carefully sent the note back and watched him for his reaction. He chuckled back and sent her thumbs up.

After class Hermione left quickly and raced up stairs to the Room of Requirement. She got there just in time to stir it properly and added a few more things to it. She stirred it again and then turned the flames up. She needed it to boil for ten minutes and then take it completely off the heat and let it set. Hermione opened up her bag and pulled out her homework she worked on an essay for Flitwick for a little while before taking the potion off of the heat. Now it was a waiting game. She would come back in the morning and if the potion was giving off a faint bluish smoke she would know if she had done it correctly.

Hermione woke up early and rushed to get ready for the day. She needed to be up before the Marauders in order to check on her potion in the Room of Requirement and she knew that she wouldn't be able to go alone if they knew what she was up too.

Hermione raced up to the 7th floor, paced in front of the empty wall space three times and waited for the door the show up. She hurried inside and looked into the caldron. Blue smoke. That was a good sign. Hermione have a whoop of victory and smiled broadly. She took out her wand and conjured a flask and scooped some of the potion into it. Then she conjured six more. It was difficult for her to figure out a better way to dispense the potion but she figured it would make taking it easier if there was one for each day of the week preceding the full moon.

Hermione put the flasks in her beaded bag and looked into the caldron. It looked like there might even be enough for another month. The thought made Hermione even happier- if it was even possible. She had never made this potion before and she didn't know if it was only a month by month supply or if there would be any remaining.

She cast a stasis charm over the caldron and left it there. She didn't know if anyone would come into the room, but there was nowhere else for her to leave it. And in any case, it's not like if someone came into the room that they would know that she was the one brewing anything or even exactly what she was brewing.

Hermione then rushed out and down the stairs into the Great Hall. She was met with curious glances at her tardiness but she just waved it off and started on a couple of piece of toast.

That afternoon after lunch, Hermione was able to pull Remus aside.

"Hey, I was hoping that maybe we could go to the library and work on that translation for Ancient Runes?" Hermione asked.

"Sure, does Lily want to come?"

"Uhh… I think she finished it last night." Hermione said quickly.

Remus gave her an odd glance, but followed her up to the library. Hermione found a quiet corner and got out her stuff to start working and Remus followed her head. She bent over to pretend like she was reaching for something in her bag but she took out her wand and silently cast the _muffliato_ charm. While they were unpacking Remus asked her something with some hesitation.

"So, I noticed that you were late for breakfast this morning- is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just had something I needed to finish," Hermione explained.

"Oh, okay. I didn't know if it had anything to do with Mulciber from yesterday. I had never seen you like that before," he said with a worried tone to his voice.

Hermione took a deep breath. She had been thinking about this all night- how was she going to bring up the conversation she needed too. She had been racking her brain for the right way to do it and eventually she came up with something that she thought might work.

Hermione was about to tell him that she knew the biggest secret of his life, and she needed to do it in a way that wouldn't terrify him, but also in a way for him to understand that he could trust her with it. The only thing she could think of was to tell him one of her secrets too.

"I have dealt with bullies since I started school. There are always going to be those who are prejudice against others and we can't change that. The only thing we can do is show them that they can't push us around and intimidate us into submission," she started. Hermione took another deep breath and put her hand over her scar. Remus noticed the movement and looked at her curiously.

"Where I came from there were people who… believed the same as Mulciber. I always tried to avoid the conflict if I could help it and just ignored them. It worked…until it didn't." She lifted up her sleeve to reveal the words that had been crudely carved into her skin.

She heard his breath hitch in his throat and when she looked up she saw his eyes widened in shock. Tentatively, he reached out a hand and gently ran his fingers over her scarred flesh, then covered it with his hand. Her eyes followed his movements. When he stopped moving Hermione covered his hand with hers and she looked back up and saw that his face had turned stony and hard. There was anger behind his eyes and his lips were pursed into a straight line.

"Who?" he asked.

"No one important. That's what I'm trying to tell you. There are always going to be those who judge us and it's important to not let them define us. We need to surround ourselves with those who are understand us and are accepting of every part of us. Whether it's something we're born with- like having muggle parents- or something that has been forced on us," Hermione said. When she ended her statement she was looking at Remus with a knowing look.

His face immediately went pale and he tried to remove his hand from her arm. She held onto his hand tightly and wouldn't let him move away from her. Her eyes never left his face.

"Please listen to me," she asked quietly.

He stopped trying to struggle away, but his grip on her hand was loose- like the second she wasn't holding tight to him he would try to slip away. He was looking at her worriedly and expectantly.

"Remus, I know that you are kind and sweet and smart. I know you're loyal and honorable and are always thinking of others. You're funny and warm and you have made me feel so welcomed here that I can't begin to thank you for that," she continued. If it was possible- his face seemed to pale even more. He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off.

"I also know that something terrible has happened to you and it's not your fault. That's why I told you about me," she said quietly.

Remus stayed silent for a while. Finally, when he did speak he said one word.

"How?"

"How? How did I find out?" she asked. He nodded. Hermione started right into his eyes as she said this part. "I had a friend- a very good friend- who was also a werewolf," she said. Remus looked around panicked at the word but Hermione took a moment to reassure him. "No one care hear us, I cast a protection charm so we won't be overheard. Anyway- I had this friend and he also suffered from lycanthropy. He was always worried that someone was going to find out. But- he had some wonderful friends who supported him and loved him despite what he might feel about himself sometimes. You actually remind me a lot of him," she said wistfully. While it was the older version of him that she was talking about, it still felt like someone completely different from the terrified young man sitting in front of her.

"You weren't afraid of him? You didn't think he was dangerous or a monster?" he asked with a sharpness to his voice that she had never heard before.

"Now- I never let my friend talk like that about himself and I won't let you," she said. She thought for a moment. She need to make it known that she accepted him. The thought came to her and she didn't even think about it before she acted. Hermione stood up and moved closer. Remus was looking a little nervous when she started to move closer- like she was going to hurt him or curse him. However, the only thing she did was plant herself in his lap and draped her arms around him in a tight embrace.

Remus's attempts at moving away from her increased at the physical touch, but after a moment or two he seemed resigned to the fact that she wasn't going to let go and he let himself relax. He brought his arms up and wrapped them tightly around her as he returned the embrace.

They stayed like that for a while. At the first contact Remus was breathing heavily- almost gasping for air. Hermione held him until his breathing slowed down and he was getting enough oxygen. She still had more that she needed to tell him and she didn't want him to pass out from lack of air to his brain.

She carefully pulled back and she noticed that the corners of his eyes were moist- like he had been trying his hardest to keep the tears from leaking out. Hermione lifted her hand and gingerly wiped the tears away and then smiled down at him. He gave her a small one back.

"So, that's it? You're just telling me that you know my secret and you're fine with it?" he asked.

"No- well I mean, yes of course I'm okay with it. It's a part of you and you wouldn't be who you are without it. Does it mean that it defines you- absolutely not! However, I love your entire person and if that comes with the package then so be it. But I actually wanted to talk to you about something else. So my friend is rather good at potions and had been messing around with different things to help with his…condition. I think I got the recipe right but we won't know until the full moon," she explained.

She got up from her place on Remus's lap and reached around for her beaded bag that was hidden in her backpack. She pulled out a flask and then moved back to him, sitting on him again. Remus smiled at the gesture and then looked at the container with a questioning expression.

"So this is a potion I brewed. I think I did it right but again, we won't know until the full moon. It's supposed to keep your mind clear during your transformations so you won't hurt yourself or…anyone else," she said this last part a little awkwardly. "Anyway, so I have seven of these for you and you have to drink one of them each day for the week before the full moon. If you miss even one then it's ineffective," she told him.

Remus looked at the flask in wonder as she passed it to him. He handled it so carefully, like something precious and it might break if jostled the wrong way. "Does it really work?" he then asked.

"Well it worked for my friend. It's an experimental thing," she added. He wasn't supposed to know about it yet but she couldn't let him continue with these horrid transformations when there was something that she could do about it. "I've never made it before but it looked right."

Remus just nodded his head- his eyes looking a little dazed at all of the information that she had just given him.

"So, you'll try it?" she asked him nervously. She didn't know if it was something he would want to try. She had been honest about never making it before and not even knowing if it would work. She also didn't know if he would trust her with something like this yet. She _had_ just dumped a whole pile of possible life changing information on him and he hadn't had enough time to process it all yet.

Remus looked up at her incredulously and said "Hell yeah!" He carefully slipped the flask into his bag and then threw his arms around her again and kissed her cheek. Hermione happily hugged him back. She heard him whisper, "Where did you come from?" but she just held onto him silently and stroked the back of his head. She remembered what Sirius had said about all of the boys taking comfort in this and brushed the hair from his face.

Finally they broke apart and Hermione moved back to her own chair. There was a sense of calm over them which hadn't been there at the beginning of the conversation.

"So, I have six more flasks of this. Do you want them or do you want me to hold onto them?" she asked.

"Can you hold onto them? I just don't have anywhere to put them and I don't want to tell the guys what's going on before I do," he told her.

"Sure, that's the whole point of this bag," she showed him. "Undetectable Extension Charm," she said proudly.

"You've got to show me that," he said eagerly.

"How about after we finish this translation?" she agreed.


	14. Chapter 14

**A/N:** Okay, now don't get used to this but here is another one. I'm spoiling you guys today, but I've just been in the right space to work on the story! These last two have literally flown out of me so quickly, it's crazy. I might start another chapter soon, but with the end of the year stuff for school I might not have time for it also. We'll have to wait and see what tomorrow bring us! And as always, I've been typing quite fast so try not to mind the typos.

Disclaimer: I swear to tell the truth; the whole truth; and nothing but the truth. I don't own Harry Potter =[

Chapter 14

Her and Remus entered the common room after their study session and saw Sirius sitting in a chair by the fire. They walked over to him and could tell from the look on his face that something was wrong. His forehead was furrowed and the muscle in the side of his jaw was flexing in a tell-tale sign that Sirius was irritated.

"Hey," Hermione said casually.

Sirius looked at him with a raised eyebrow and then turned away to look at the fire before speaking to them. "So, you guys look close."

Hermione and Remus exchanged confused glances. Sirius had looked back again and caught them before he decided to elaborate. "I went to the library to look for you Moony and I almost interrupted something…intimate."

Dawning lit both of their faces; however their reactions were very different. Remus looked amused at the misunderstanding but Hermione was outraged. So, he thought that they were snogging in the library- did he? She was so tired of him acting this way and trying to dictate who she did what with. She was going to give him something to talk about.

"Oh, you caught us? Well, guess the secrets out," she snapped. She turned to look at Remus, grabbed the back of his head and gave him a kiss right on the lips. When she let go she saw Remus with a flushed face and an expression that clearly expressed his surprise. She turned to look at Sirius who looked completely taken aback by her tone and her actions.

"I can now let you know that what you saw was me comforting Remus while I told him that I knew about his condition and that he was still my friends and what a wonderful person I still thought he was," she said in a furious whisper. She saw Sirius's face slack and go pale before she stomped up the stairs to her dormitory. The last thing she heard was Sirius's moan of "Fuck!"

Hermione marched into her dormitory and threw her bag to the ground before lying down on her bed and putting her pillow over her head. She lay like that for a moment before she felt someone sit on the edge of the bed and someone put their hand on her back.

"Hermione, is everything alright?" She heard Mary ask.

"Sure," Hermione replied.

"Does this have anything to do with why Sirius was sulking in the common room when we came through?" Mary questioned.

Hermione moved out from underneath her pillow and turned around to look up at her friend.

"Did he say anything?" she asked.

"No, he just sat there and glared at the fire," Mary recalled.

"Argh… he got upset with me for talking to Severus and Regulus and I told him he can't dictate who I talk to and I thought we were all set- you know? I thought we had moved passed this. But then he saw me give Remus a hug in the library and he just basically asked me if I was snogging his best mate!" Hermione ranted. She got up out of bed and started to pace up and down the length of the room.

"He doesn't have any right to be mad at me. I do what I'd like- it's not like we're dating. He can't get mad about this crap- he's going to Hogsmeade with someone so why doesn't he grace her with all of his silly demands and expectations." She had started out yelling but was quickly losing steam. She just wasn't someone who could stay mad at another for a long time.

"Do you think he might like you?" Mary asked tentatively.

"No, didn't you just hear- he's already got a date for Hogsmeade. And so do I for that matter. Why would he think that I'd be snogging Remus when I have plans with someone for a maybe-date?" she said to herself more than anyone else.

"Well I'd snog Remus," Mary said offhandedly. Hermione stopped and stared at her. "Just kidding! Well, no I'm not kidding, but I don't fancy him or anything. I just think he's cute," Mary admitted.

Hermione let out the breath that she had been holding as a chuckle and a shake of her head.

"You always know what to say," Hermione told her friend.

"I don't really- I just like to be honest during uncomfortable situations," She said with a shrug. "Can I ask you something?"

Hermione looked unsure about this but nodded her head slowly.

"How do _you_ feel about Sirius?" She asked.

"It… it doesn't matter what I feel. He's

Hermione walked back over to her friend and sat down. "Alright, so tell me something truthful," she asked.

"Hmm… how about an observation- a truthful observation? Anyway, I believe that Sirius is too full of feelings right now and he's taking out his frustrations on you. He likes you- don't give me that look because everyone thinks so. So, he's trying to figure out those feelings because Sirius…I know you're new here and everything but Sirius had quite the reputation before you arrived. He dated a lot of girls- like a lot. I think you're different for him and it's a hard thing for him to process. I also think that he liked how he handled his romantic like prior to this year and he's hesitant to give it up. He's also a teenager and he's filled with hormones so he flirts with the first thing with boobs," Mary explained. "He was jealous that you might like Remus instead of him- and even though he hadn't said it he probably freaked out when you said you were hanging out with Benjy Fenwick. It's like a kid with a toy. He wants it but doesn't want to play with it- yet he also doesn't want anyone else to play with it either."

Hermione took all of this in before she said anything.

"Well doesn't that just grind my gears," Hermione said. Mary laughed at this and Hermione expanded on her thought process. "If what you say it true," she said with an unbelieving look at Mary. "Then he's just going to have to suck it up. None of this is my fault and he's just got to deal with it,"

"Oh, I forgot to mention that he's also very stubborn and won't accept responsibility willingly," Mary added. "Can I ask you something?"

Hermione looked unsure about this but nodded her head slowly.

"How do _you_ feel about Sirius?" She asked.

"It… it doesn't matter what I feel. He is the way he is. He'll never change and so it doesn't matter. What matters is that he treats me fairly like everyone else in the process," Hermione admitted.

"Okay, so you like him?" Mary asked with a smile.

Hermione bit her lip before slowly nodding her head. "Yeah, I like him," She said softly. There was a moment of silence between the two girls and before Hermione shook her head. It was time for dinner and Hermione was hungry. She had told someone about her feelings and was mad and didn't want to run into Sirius right then.

"Hey, have you ever been to the kitchens?" she asked suddenly.

Mary's eyes went wide. "You know where the kitchens are?"

"Yeah, let's go down there for dinner. I don't want to see Mr. Black right now and I just want to eat a lot of chocolate," Hermione admitted. They got up and walked down to the kitchens. The walk down was nice. Hermione hadn't had much time to spend alone with Mary and found her to be a sweet and compassionate girl. She did love her gossip, which usually bothers Hermione to no end, but she found that it didn't annoy her when Mary did it.

They reached the portrait with the bowl of fruit and Hermione showed Mary how to tickle the pear and open the door. They walked down the steps and were instantly met with a sight that Hermione had been trying to avoid. Sitting at the table in the kitchen sat Sirius, Remus, James, and Peter. They were deep in conversation and didn't notice the two girl's entrance. Sirius was sitting with his face in his hands while the other three boys were talking in hushed voices.

"Miss Hermione! What can I be getting you?" Mitzy had rushed over at the sight of the girls and greeted Hermione warmly.

"Oh, you've got to be kidding me," Hermione muttered. Looking down at Mitzy Hermione just answered "Nothing, I actually need to be going."

"Wait," Sirius shouted.

Hermione stopped but didn't turn around. After standing there for a minute and not hearing anything else, she turned to look at him. He was standing up from where he had been sitting, but seemed to not know what to do next. He looked at her and then his friends and back again- not sure how to proceed.

"What?" Hermione asked. She almost felt bad for him at this moment.

"Erm… Can we talk?" He asked her.

"I don't know- are you going to accuse me of snogging your friends again?" Hermione countered. Sirius winced at the tone of her voice.

"Will you take a walk with me?" He said softly.

Hermione felt Mary move beside her and then felt her body being propelled forward a few feet. She looked behind her to see Mary giving her an innocent look.

"I guess so," she said as she turned back to Sirius. He moved passed her and up the stairs. Hermione followed and gave a questioning glance to Mary. All Mary did was smile at her and motion for her to follow the raven haired boy.

They got out into the corridor and Hermione just followed where Sirius was leading them. He headed out towards the Entrance Hall and then out onto the grounds. The walked along the edge of the Black Lake- the weather was getting cooler as Halloween approached. It wasn't dark out, but you could see the moon starting to edge out along to tree line.

Hermione shivered as the wind went by, leaving her skin dotted with goose bumps. She wrapped her arms around herself for warmth.

"Are you cold?" he asked. Hermione nodded her head and he shucked off his robes and passed them to her.

"No, you don't have to…" she started to argue.

"It's fine, I'm not cold. Here," he said as he helped her into the robes. His scent was instantly surrounding her and it smelled like woods, and grass, and something musky. She pulled them tightly around her for warmth.

"So, you wanted to talk," Hermione asked. She wasn't going to make this easy for him. They had already had fights like this a couple of times and she was tired of it.

"Yes…" he trailed off. He had shoved his hands into his pockets while he walked and observed the landscape before them. She gave him another moment to gather his bearings before she was going to go back inside the castle.

"Listen, I don't have all evening and…" Hermione said as she stopped walking and turned to go in the other direction.

Before she could get far a hand came out and caught her wrist and turned her around. Sirius was standing close to her now and looking extremely uncomfortable.

"I'm…sorry," he said finally.

She sighed. "What are you sorry for?" she asked.

"Erm… for thinking that- are you really going to make me say it?" he whined.

Hermione tried to move away from him. "If you can't tell me why then how do I know you mean it?"

"I'm sorry for accusing you of snogging Remus," he said when he wouldn't let her go.

"Are you really? Because this stuff keeps happening- you can't dictate what I do. I'm not dating anyone so if I want to befriend Severus- I'm going to. And if I want to snog Remus- I'm going to snog his bloody face off. I don't need your permission," Hermione said finally.

Sirius let go of her arm and put his hands back inside his pockets again. He was looking down at the ground and kicking the grass. He momentarily had a small smile when she said 'snog his bloody face off' but it disappeared at the last part of her speech.

"I know that, but I can't help it," he said.

"You can't help what?" she asked.

"I can't help… feelings," he mumbled.

Hermione's breath hitched in her chest. Feelings? Where was this going? Was he telling her he had feeling for her?

"I'm sorry, what?" she asked.

He took a deep breath and looked right into her brown eyes with his story grey ones. "I said I can't help these feelings I have."

"What kind of feelings," Hermione all but whispered. Her body was trembling a bit and it had nothing to do with the cool air.

Sirius kept his eye contact until this point. When he broke it he shook his head and relaxed his shoulders. "You know, being protective. I worry about you," he said with a smile.

Hermione let you the breath that she had been holding and felt her body go a bit numb.

"Oh, well then that's… something you'll have to work on," Hermione admitted.

"Yeah, I guess so," He replied. "So, are we good?"

"Yeah, we're good," She replied.

Hermione didn't wait for him before she walked back up towards the castle. She had tears forming in the corners of her eyes but she was determined not to let them out where he could see them. She used all the secret passages she could think of to reach Gryffindor tower quickly. She walked up the stairs and straight to her bed. She pulled the curtains around her and cast a silencing spell around her before she would let the tears fall.

It was silly for her to get her hopes up. She knew he didn't feel that way, but she let herself hope. It was her own fault, and she was going to have to live with it. It _was_ enough that he wanted to be friends and he felt protective over her, she told herself.

She had a pair of pajamas set out on her bed and she started to take off her clothing to change when she realized that she was still wearing his robes. She quickly changed into her pajamas and curled up underneath the covers. She picked Sirius's robes from the end of her bed and snuggled up with them, letting his scent carry her to sleep.

The next morning Hermione woke up feeling unrested, despite the amount of sleep she actually got. She shuffled over to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were a bit puffy from the tears that she had shed last night and she looked pale. Deciding a shower would help, Hermione turned on the water and let the warm steam and steady pressure revive her for the day.

She finished her morning routine and packed her stuff for the day. She grabbed Sirius's robe and cast a refreshing charm on it so clean it and rid it of wrinkles. She walked down to the common room and saw the Marauders already there.

When Hermione reached the bottom of the stairs she went right over to Sirius and handed him his robes.

"Here, before I forget," she told him.

"No worries, I've got tons," he said.

"Yeah, plus this tosser never does his laundry and is always stealing ours," James complained.

"Not mine," Remus said with a smirk. Hermione looked confused. "It's because I'm the only one who's taller than him." James and Peter sniggered at his.

"Why is that funny?" Hermione asked slowly.

"Because when were in first year Sirius was the tallest. As we all grew, Remus started to surpass him and Sirius had a hard time admitting it," Peter explained.

Hermione turned to look at him. "Really- you're upset that one of your friends grew to be tall than you, something he had no control over. Yet you're fine with knowing that he's a werewolf," Hermione asked sarcastically.

Sirius looked a little put out by this observation, but it then received roars of laughter from the other three trouble makers. "Come on, let's get going," he mumbled.

Hermione hung to the back of the group with Remus during their journey to the Great Hall. "It's one week before the full moon, did you take the potion yet," she asked him quietly.

"Yeah, why didn't you tell me that it tasted horrid," Remus complained.

"Oops, I guess I did forget to mention that," she mumbled. Remus gave her a mock glare and threw his arm around her while they walked. She put her arm around his waist and they chatted about the upcoming Quidditch match the rest of the way down to breakfast.

The Quidditch match was on Sunday, two days from then. And while it wasn't a highly anticipated match, everyone was excited for the official start to the Quidditch season. Hermione had to admit that she was looking forward to the game, and was working hard to finish her homework before Sunday so she could spend the day relaxing and enjoying the game, and hopefully the after party celebrations.

Hermione and Remus had separated themselves from the other three in their attempt at a private conversation and as such, they reached the table last. Hermione caught the look on Sirius's face when he saw the way they were walking with each other, but Hermione chose not to pay any attention to him.

"So are you guys ready for the match on Sunday?" Hermione directed her question towards the raven haired boy who wasn't pouting.

"Oh yeah, we've worked on some plays and have practice tonight and all day tomorrow. We're definitely going to win," He said with confidence.

"Good, I'm actually looking forward to a day of Quidditch. I haven't seen you guys play in an actual match yet!" Hermione said excitedly.

"I'm thinking of asking Miranda to wear my practice jersey to the game," Sirius said offhandedly. The boys all froze at this turned to look at him. "What?" he said innocently.

"You've never asked a girl to wear your jersey," Remus said.

"Well, I think it's a time to make a change. I'm going with her to Hogsmeade in a few weeks so why not?" Sirius told them.

"Mate, why don't you wait and see if you actually like her," James offered. "Take her on a date here if you don't want to wait- tomorrow night if you must. But don't just go offering your jersey to some bird," James argued.

"Great idea, I think I'll go see if she's busy tomorrow night," Sirius announced and walked over to the Hufflepuff table.

Hermione looked down at her food as he walked away. _You don't care, remember?_ She said to herself.

"So James, have you ever given a girl your practice jersey to wear?" Hermione asked to change the subject away from Sirius.

Remus started laughing at this. "He's tried to get Lily to wear his jersey so many times- remember that one time in fourth year?"

Peter snigger at this. "Yeah, when he tried to charm it to look like her jacket; he thought she wouldn't notice and would wear it. That was everyone would see her wearing it and she wouldn't have a clue! He found it used as a flag hanging from the astronomy tower during the match," he laughed. "And what about at the end of last year, huh?"

"Oh yeah- when we wanted her to wear it to the final match against Slytherin. He told her that if she wore it then she would be moved to accept a date with him. He actually told her that it would be for her benefit!" Remus snorted with laughter and was actually using her body to keep himself upright. James, on the other hand was pink in the face.

"Aww… Don't be embarrassed. I know you'll win her over some day," Hermione said hopefully. James looked grateful at her, but then hurriedly shushed the rest of the group when Lily and the other girls sat down at the table.

"What were you guys talking about?" Lily asked.

"Quidditch," they all answered quickly. Lily gave them a questioning look, but didn't press the issue.

"We've got potions today," Hermione said.

A groan ran through the group. Even Lily wasn't feeling like a trip down to the potions classroom, and that was one of her favorite subjects.

"We just have to get through today and then we've got the weekend," Lily reminded them.

Sirius arrived back at the table looking a little annoyed.

"So, got yourself a date?" Remus asked.

"Nahh… I remembered some stuff I have to do." Sirius said vaguely.

"We also talked about going down to visit Hagrid if you're still interested. Maybe get to see the Thestrals?" Hermione reminded him.

"Oh yeah, I knew there was something I was forgetting. Can you meet me at the pitch at, what time?" Sirius asked James.

"Ehh… Is four good?" James answered.

"Sure," Hermione said.

The group finished their breakfast and headed down to the dungeon. Hermione was still sitting with Severus during their classes, so she said goodbye to her friends and moved over to the empty seat next to the Slytherin boy.

"Morning," she said.

"Morning," he replied.

"Are you going to the game?" She asked him.

"I think so. A bunch of my mates want to, so I probably will," he answered her.

"Cool, me too. I'm actually really excited! It feels like it's been forever since I saw a game," she told him. And it really did. She hadn't been to a Quidditch game since the end of her own sixth year, and they cancelled the last match of the season when Dumbledore had died, so she didn't get to experience the whole season.

"Are you one of those Quidditch nutters too?" he asked her.

"Nope, I just like to watch," she answered. "Are you going to the Hogsmeade weekend?"

"Yeah, I've already got to restock my potions kit," he explained.

"Really, have you been experimenting?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm always trying different things. And I'm at the apothecary so often that I usually can get a discount on certain ingredients," he explained.

"Really? How does that work," Hermione asked.

"I just have an understanding with the owner. I usually restock regularly and they offer me discounted prices on some things so they can rotate the merchandise," he said simply.

"Do you mean the older gentleman or his son," she asked in a casual manner.

"The older guy? I haven't seen him since his son started working there," Severus answered.

"Oh yeah, I met him the other day. He seems nice," she told him.

"I just care that he knows how to properly store fire seeds," he replied.

Slughorn gathered everyone's attention at this point and the class began.

After class was dismissed, the group of sixth year Gryffindors headed up the stairs to their next class. They were just exiting the dungeons and onto the main part of the floor when the noticed Mulciber and his crew surrounding a redheaded girl who looked to be in her third year. Her books were all over the floor and the Slytherins all had their wands pointed at her.

James was actually the first one to react. "Oi, I told you to wait for my by the stairs," he said loudly to the girl. She looked terrified at the situation she was in, but seemed relieved when someone noticed her.

James marched through the group of Slytherins and gently pushed her back towards his friends. He noticed that she had been crying and when his hand made contact with her, she gripped onto him like her life depended on it. He looked down at her and then continued with his charade.

"I've been looking all over for you- I was going to walk you to class and was worried when you weren't there," he said dramatically. He turned around to the Slytherins and said "Thanks so much for finding my girlfriend here- you guys are real pals."

He quickly shuffled the third year and the rest of the group away from Mulciber before anything else could happen. He had confused them with this last announcement and took the opportunity to move the young girl away.

"Are you okay?" he asked her.

"I…I think so," she said with a shaky breath.

"What's your name?"

"Ella," she said.

"Okay Ella, my name is James. I've told those guys that you're my girlfriend so they won't mess with you anymore," he said to her. Her face flushed pink at these words, but he just smiled at her.

"What if they don't believe you," she said in a small voice.

James thought for a moment and the put his bag on the ground and dug something out- his Quidditch practice jersey.

"Here, wear this at the Quidditch match on Sunday. That was everyone will know to leave you alone," he said as he handed her the shirt. Then he leaned down and kissed her cheek. If possible, she went ever redder. "Come one, I'll walk you to class," he said. Turning to his friends he added "Tell McGonagall that I might be a few minutes late."

He turned and walked away with her chatting happily. The only thing she heard him say was "You know I really like your red hair." Ella kept looking up at him with an expression that clearly said _I can't believe he's talking to me_. Hermione turned back to the group and saw Lily staring at the retreating back of one James Potter. Hmm… she wondered.

The group- minus James- walked up to the Transfiguration classroom. Before they got there, Hermione pulled Sirius and Remus to the side and said, "Follow my lead," and then walked ahead of them.

She didn't know how she managed it, but she was able to get everyone to sit together and leave a seat on the end, and Lily the one sitting next to the empty spot. When Remus and Sirius realized what she was up too, they eagerly helped with the new seating arrangements.

James didn't end up being late, surprisingly. She guessed that it was because of his knowledge of the secret passages in the school and either the magic map that helped him along, or the invisibility cloak that had been passed down to him from his father.

Hermione watched Lily and James from the corner of her eye. She didn't know what was happening, but something clicked when she saw the look on Lily's face and knew they needed to be within speaking distances, which is something that Lily usually discouraged.

"Hey Pot- er…James," Lily said awkwardly. James's head snapped up at hearing his given name being said from her lips. He turned his head to look at her. From behind Lily, Hermione was avidly shaking her head to not acknowledge what had just happened.

James's face went from awe, to absolute bliss, so confusion, and then snapped back to seriousness. If Hermione hadn't thought the situation quite to important then she would have thought it very funny.

"Yeah," he answered the redheaded girl.

"What you did for Ella, that was really nice of you," she admitted.

"Well, I've seen another girl… uh just girls in general- you know. Not one girl in particular," he said with an attempt at casualness but it just came out panicked. Hermione put her face into her palm and just waited it out. "But I've seen girls," here he stressed the 's' sound, "being picked on and I figured that I'm in a position to help out, so I should." He said with a shrug.

"Well, I just wanted to tell you how great it was for you to do. I bet you made her day. You handled it really well and I'm… I'm proud of you," she said quietly. James just stared at her. After a moment Hermione picked her head up from her hand and made a gesture behind Lily's back clearly saying _Reply dumb-arse_.

"Oh, uh- thanks," he said with a goofy smile. Lily returned it with her own small smile and turned back to her textbook.

"Was that as bloody uncomfortable for you too?" Sirius asked from beside her. Hermione jumped at hearing his voice so close to her ear, uncomfortably close for someone who was trying very hard to remember that he was just a friend. Taking a deep breath she turned to look at him.

"I've got a friend who actually reminds me a lot of him," she said fondly.

"Which one?" he asked.

"Harry," she replied.

"What is about James that reminds you of him," Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.

"Harry was always so weird around girls he liked too. There was this one girl that he liked, and I swear every time he saw her he ended up spilling water or pumpkin juice down the front of his shirt. Even if it had already been in his mouth," she said with a smile and a shake of her head.

"Yeah, that sounds like James. Only, it's only Lily that he's like that around," Sirius said softly. Hermione thought about that, and it made the idea of Lily and James Potter's love story even more romantic then it had been. It seems like it's always the guy who knows, in movies- you know? They are always the ones to say that they knew she was the one first. Hermione let out a romanticized sigh that had nothing to do with what she had been talking to Sirius about.

She looked up and him and saw him looking at her with a confused expression.

"Sorry, went on a bird walk," she explained.

"A bird walk? Is that when you go on a walk with a girl," he asked confusedly.

"No, how could I possible go on a walk with a girl when I'm sitting next to you," she said with a laugh.

"Huh, that's true. But, if you did go on a walk with a girl- would it be a date?" He asked with raised eyebrows.

"Wouldn't you like to know," she said with a teasing purr.

"You know I would," he said in a husky tone.

This conversation was going into a dangerous place and Hermione practiced her mantra that she had been using. _He's just a friend. He's just a friend. He's just a friend._ She quickly changed the subject before this conversation could get any more suggestive.

"So, a bird walk is what I call it when I I'm talking about something else, but it reminds me of something else and then I end up getting so far away from the original subject that I've forgotten what we're talking about," she explained.

"I don't get it," he admitted.

"You know, like when you go to the movies and your ordering popcorn and then you remember that one time that you had popcorn at the fair and there was a roller-coaster at the fair and then you remembered that they make you sick- so then you remember that one time you had the stomach flu when you were nine years old and you threw up at school in front of the entire classroom," she said this all very quickly.

"What's a roller-coaster?" he asked.

Hermione just chuckled. "It's like flying on a motorbike, but it's attached to a track and sometimes they go upside down and you don't have to drive it, they move on their own," Hermione answered.

Sirius's eyes went wide! "Wicked, can we go sometime?" he asked.

"Sure," she answered.

"Man, muggles are the best," he said shaking his head and smiling.


	15. Chapter 15

**A/N:** I'm so sorry it's taken me this long to update. With the ending of the semester at school and the holidays I feel like I haven't had a spare moment to myself. I've also been dealing with one of the worst cold's I've ever had, so it's been hard to find some time to write. Anyway, I'm on vacation from school and nest week will be a vacation from work, so I want to dedicate some time to really updating a lot. I hate to be one of those people who rely on reviews, but it really does give me the kick in the butt to squeeze in the writing time. So thank you to Gloryofluv! Your review was the one to kick me in the bum today =]

P.S. I'm really sorry about Hagrids part again. He's awesome, but a total pain in my tush to write the way he talks. Leave me some ideas about how to write in his accent if anyone has any tips!

Disclaimer: The world of Harry Potter is amazing and there is no way I could begin to develop something of this magnitude. I wish I could claim ownership, but I don't. The closest I come to being J.K. Rowling is the fact that my middle name is Jo Ann.

Chapter 15

Hermione spent the majority of the next day in the library with Remus and Lily. Like her, they both had decided that they wanted to get their homework out of the way and be able to enjoy game day tomorrow.

It was also less than a week before the full moon and Remus was starting to look pale. Hermione kept a package of chocolate in her backpack at all times in case he needed a pick-me-up.

"Here," she said handing him a piece. He took it gratefully and Hermione passed a piece to Lily and then ate one herself.

"So all we've got to worry about is the essay for McGonagall on human transfiguration and that's it, right?" Remus asked.

"We've also got to practice those charms for Flitwick," Lily reminded him.

"That's actually not too bad. We might be able to leave here at a decent time today," Remus replied.

"I've got to leave in about an hour. I was going to go down to the kitchen and grad some food for Sirius before we head down to Hagrids. Godric knows that boy can't go more than an hour without eating and he's been practicing Quidditch for about… five," Hermione told them.

"Yeah, it will help your sanity if you bring him something," Remus explained. "I've roomed with him long enough to know that Sirius can make things downright miserable if he's hungry."

"Marlene gets like that too," Lily commented. "I wonder if it's something with Quidditch players."

"I don't think so because James never gets grumpy when he's hungry. He gets whiney as hell, but usually stays even tempered." Remus said.

"I had a friend who used to turn into such a git if he didn't eat on schedule," Hermione said. "Actually, come to think about it- he also plays Quidditch."

"Is that your hunky Quidditch God that we've heard so much about?" Lily teased.

"Why is everyone so fascinated with him?" Hermione sighed.

"I don't know, I guess because we don't really know who your type of guy is," Lily tried to explain. "There's still so much about you and usually you can tell a lot about a person by who they date. I think it feels like we're getting to understand another piece of the Hermione puzzle."

"I guess that makes sense. Well he played Quidditch- seeker. He was nice, but usually too serious for me. And we didn't talk much- No, not because of that! Mostly he just liked to watch me do homework," she admitted with a shrug and she went back to work. Talking about her interest in the male species was a dangerous topic for her right now.

About an hour later and one Transfiguration essay done, Hermione found herself walking down to the Quidditch pitch with a bunch of food in her beaded bag. All she had asked Mitzy for was a plate to take with her, but the elf was always so generous that she gave Hermione enough food for five plates. Well, knowing Sirius it was more like two plates.

She arrived as the team was dismounting from their brooms. They all looked like sweaty messes despite the cool weather. Hermione had worn her thick jacket, a hat, and mittens for their afternoon activities. She walked up to the group as James was finishing up their practice.

"That was a great practice today. Now, the game starts at 10 tomorrow, so I want you all to go and rest up. Oh, and try to finish any homework you might have because there will be a celebration in the common room after we win," he said with a smile and a fist punch into the air. It was followed by a chorus of cheers from the rest of the team before they dispersed. Hermione walked over to Sirius and James.

"How did practice go?" she asked.

"Good. Great- actually! We'll definitely beat Ravenclaw. I had Ryder to and spy on their team's practice the other day- he's friends with one of their chasers. And he said that we would have no trouble beating them," James said proudly.

"And your new additions, how are they working out?"

"They're great. Veronica is doing really well and Mann has already made a load of progress since the tryouts," he explained before his attention was diverted by Baker and Marlene talking about tomorrows match.

"Yeah, and he's awesome," Sirius said in a low voice. "Mann's got this bit where he talks behind James's back when our dear old Captain is trying to lecture someone or give us a rousing speech," he explained.

"He sounds great," Hermione said. "Listen, I told Hagrid we'd be down so you need to go shower and change"

"I don't want to. I'm tired and hungry," He whined.

"Well, I knew you would be. I've got food in my bag and you have time to eat it if you go now. I'm not hanging out with you while you're all sweaty and gross," Hermione teased.

She noticed a glint of mischief in his eyes as she said this. He opened his arms wide and smothered her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Now that wasn't nice," he laughed at her stunned expression and escape attempts.

"You know I can always take the food back to the kitchens," she said in a strained voice.

He immediately let go of her and stepped back. "Just joking, eh? No need for such threats," he said.

"I learned from someone that I should only threat with what I'm willing to do," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow.

Sirius looked surprised, and then smiled. "That sounds like a brilliantly intelligent individual."

Hermione just rolled her eyes. "Go get cleaned up. The longer you take the more food I'll give to James," she threatened. He eyed her warily, and to show she meant business, she took out a dinner roll and handed it over to the Quidditch captain. James took a bite out of it and looked at Sirius smugly, as his friend glared at him. Sirius turned his back on the others and stomped over to the changing rooms.

When he no longer smelled like the inside of a used sock, Hermione and Sirius headed down towards Hagrid's hut.

"It's getting colder out," Hermione noticed. "It must be getting close to Halloween. Does the school do anything for Halloween?"

"We have a big feast," Sirius replied with a shrug. "That's it. Well, the Hogsmeade weekend it supposed to coincide with it, but it's hardly ever on that date exactly." Hermione nodded in understanding.

The two sixth years reached Hagrids hut and knocked on the door.

"S' open," Hagrid yelled from inside. Sirius pulled open the door and allowed Hermione to enter first. She looked around for Hagrid and found him cutting up pieces of meat on the counter and dumping them into a bucket next to his feet.

"Hagrid, what are you doing," she asked.

"Cuttin' up somat for the Theastels," Hagrid replied. "If yeh wanna get near 'um yeh need teh feel 'um," he explained.

"So you've started training them?" Sirius asked.

"Oh sure, I said to 'ermione tha' it would be easy after the hippogriffs," Hagrid said while putting in the last of the mean and turned to them. "You twos ready?" Hermione and Sirius nodded.

The three of them headed outside and walked past the pumpkin patch, which was housing pumpkins. They were only the size of a small child, but Hermione knew from past experiences that they would soon get to be much bigger. They turned towards the forest and started to talk into the dense trees.

"Now, how much do you two know 'bout Thestrals?" Hagrid asked.

"I know they're rated as a XXXX in Fantastic Beast and Where to Find Them- meaning you should be a very experienced witch or wizard to handle them. You probably have the only domesticated heard in all of Britain," Sirius said excitedly.

"They're usually associated with death, because in order to see them you have to have seen death," Hermione answered softly.

"Yer both right," Hagrid grinned. "Now, I'm gonna leave this 'ere meat in the clearing, and watch." The giant strode into the middle of the clearing they had reached and dumped the bucket out, before walking back to Hermione and Sirius.

Jus' wait," Hagrid explained.

They waited there for a few minutes before they heard the rustle of bushes and the soft padding of something on the leaves. Hermione looked to her left, where she thought the noise had come from, to see two sets of white orbs looking at her. Her breath hitched in her throat, and she instinctively took a step back.

They looked like…horses? No, that wasn't right, but it was as close to a description as she could get. They looked like winged horses, but they also gave the resemblance of bats. So, horse-bats?

The last time she had been around a Thestral, she hadn't been able to see them. While she had experienced the pain of losing someone at the time, she hadn't see death right in front of her. Thinking about it, why hadn't she noticed them when they arrived at the castle? Was she that deep in thought that she hadn't noticed the fact that there were winged horse-bats pulling the carriage?

"You can see them?" Sirius asked. Hermione nodded her head.

"Can you?" she returned the question.

"Yeah, my grandfather. I was really young, but I liked him a lot," Sirius explained. "Was it… was it your parents?" he then asked uncertainly.

Hermione didn't know how to answer that. She hadn't seen her parents die; she had just made them unaware of the fact that they had a daughter. It was more like she had died in their eyes. She had seen other people die, but that would be too complicated. Instead, she just nodded yes to his question.

Sirius reached over and put an arm around her shoulders at this, and they stayed like this while they observed the hauntingly beautiful creatures. They watched as more and more Thestrals came into the clearing at the scent of the raw meat, and when their treats were gone they headed back into the shadows of the forest.

Hagrid led them back out of the forest and they spend the next few hours sitting in front of the fire in the hut drinking tea and chatting about the upcoming Quidditch game.

Hermione and Sirius had to head back after a while, Sirius was to play in the game the next day and needed to make sure he got the rest of his work done and was properly rested.

They walked into the common room and saw their two groups of friends all sitting in front of the fire. Lily was teaching Dorcas how to play a muggle card game, James and Peter were playing wizard's chess, Remus was reading a book, and Mary was braiding Marlene's hair.

Dorcas turned her head when she saw them approach.

"Hey guys, how's Hagrid?" she asked.

"Great! Hagrid took us to see the Thestrals," Sirius beamed.

"Really? What was that like?" Lily asked intrigued.

"You know, it was really cool at first. They look like skeleton dragon-horse things. Really wicked, until you remember why you can see them, you know? Like- they're such interesting creatures, but in order to appreciate it you have to see someone die. It's… it's bloody depressing," Sirius explained to the group.

Hermione kept quite during this exchange. She had been quiet since they returned from the clearing. It had hit her harder than she had thought it would. The entire time she was in the presence of the Thestrals it had been a constant reminder about all the people she had lost, through death or time travel.

"Are you okay?" Remus asked her quietly.

She looked down and smiled softly at him. "Yeah, just a little…more than I expected," she answered truthfully. She sighed and took a seat beside him on the sofa. "I had a friend who could see Thestrals at my old school and he always tried to explain what it was like, but those kinds of things you never really understand until you feel it yourself."

Remus looked like he was about to say something but their attention was swayed when she heard Dorcas complain loudly.

"I don't understand why this game is called 'War'. The cards don't even fight. In Exploding Snap, the cards explode- thus the name of the game. 'War' is an awfully misleading name."

Hermione, Remus, Lily, and Mary all laughed at this. They had all grown up in a house with muggle living in it, so they all found the reason for her annoyance amusing. The purebloods, however, were all wearing the same confused looks.

"It's called 'War' because we kind of battle over the cards. Plus, it's a muggle game. The cards can't just get up and fight each other," Lily explained.

"Well than a name that reflects the game better. Like 'lay down' or something; all you're doing is laying card after card after card down." Dorcas replied.

Lily captured her friend's attention once more and tried to explain the appeal of the game to muggles again.

"Speaking of war, did anyone see the paper today? There was another attack. Three muggle families in one night," James said seriously.

"Yeah, they're escalating. So far there had only been one family at a time. That probably means that he's gathering enough followers to attack in multiple locations," Sirius reasoned.

"It's awful what's happening. I go back and forth on whether or not I should tell my parents about it, but I don't want to frighten them. Or worse, I'm afraid that they'll tell me I can't return to Hogwarts," Lily told the group. Everyone looked solemn at this confession.

"You need to do what you think is best," James said to Lily.

"Yeah, but what's best?" she said softly.

The group had a moment of silence at this confession, no one knowing how to answer.

"What kind of knickers do you think Old Voldy wears under his robes? Boxers or briefs?" Sirius wondered aloud.

"What?" Hermione exclaimed.

"Well, I guess the first question we should ask ourselves is _does_ he wear knickers? Or is he more likely a commando kind of guy," he questioned with a furrowed brow.

"He seems like the daring kind of guy. And really, are boxers and briefs our only options? What about a jockstrap?" James countered to his friend.

"Good thinking mate. And fabrics! We have cotton, lace, silk, satin, polyester…" Sirius listed.

"You guys are nutters," Lily said shaking her head.

"Yeah, and why would you want to know?" Mary asked.

"Curious mind," Sirius answered simply.

Hermione looked around at her friends to see their reactions. When she looked towards Remus, she saw him just in time to shake his head.

"Ahh hell, why not? Does he prefer full coverage or is he worried about panty lines?"

"Moony, great point! I like to think it depends on the kind of robes he wears. If it's something more form fitting I'd think he would go for the briefs," Sirius answered.

Hermione looked around again and saw James sitting with his hand in a fist underneath his chin, deep in thought about what Sirius was proposing. She threw her hands up in the air, _if you can't beat them, join 'um!_

"If we're talking form fitting robes, he might want to consider a thong," Hermione said.

James and Sirius's eyes lit up when they heard what she added to their proposed question.

"Kitten, you are too right!" Sirius shouted. Then with a wiggle of his eyebrows he asked, "And what do you know about thongs?"

Hermione just jokingly purred at him in response and the group burst into laughter again.

This conversation lasted longer than anyone cared to admit, especially when they idea of muggle clothing was brought in. The girls abandoned the boys when Sirius and James started to point too many questions about their own personal lingerie preferences.

The next morning brought with it a lot of excitement! It was the first Quidditch match of the season and everyone was excited to get down to the pitch. Hermione and the girls from her dorm were up early and got dressed quickly, but making sure to wear layers. The cold weather had set in and sitting up in the stands was usually pretty cold, especially if the wind picked up.

They walked down to the Great Hall to see everyone from the Gryffindor team already there, and Remus and Peter sitting with James and Sirius.

The girls joined them for breakfast. James hardly ate anything, just a piece of toast that Hermione almost had to force down his throat. If he's anything like his son, he won't eat before the game and then be famished after.

There was a sudden commotion at the end of the table and Hermione looked up to see what it was. When she realized what was going on, she elbowed James and pointed to the doors of the Great Hall.

"OI! ELLA!" James yelled. The third year girl had walked into the Great Hall and when everyone had seen her wearing a practice jersey with the name POTTER on the back, anyone who saw it was interested.

The girl walked over to them, her face as bright red as her hair.

"Hi," Ella said meekly.

"Hey, I'm so glad you came. Here, bunch up you git- make room. There, sit with us," James said. He reached over behind Hermione and put his hand on Sirius's shoulder and pushed him down. Hermione quickly moved along with him, understanding what James was doing. Ella sat down in between James and Hermione.

"Are you ready for the game?" He asked her. Ella nodded.

Hermione wondered if this was all too much for the poor girl, and was pleasantly surprised when the girl then spoke.

"Are you nervous?" Ella asked.

"Honestly, a little. I'm not nervous to play; I got over that a long time ago. I'm nervous to Captain my first game. I really want it to go well and set the season off with a win," James admitted.

"I think you'll do great," Ella said shyly.

"Thanks," James replied. They started talking about Ella's classes and Hermione could tell that the girl was becoming more comfortable.

"Hey Ella, would you like to sit with us and watch the game," Lily had asked from a few spots down.

Ella's eyes widened and she nodded her head, a big smile breaking out on her face. Lily smiled back at the girl, then looked up and smiled at James.

A few minutes later the Gryffindor team all stood up to make their way down to the pitch. Every one of their house yelled words of encouragement and luck to them as they made their way down the table. The group of sixth years plus Ella made their way down to the pitch a little while later. They made sure to find seats all together and as high up in the stands as they could.

The other stands were filling up quickly and by the time the game was to start, Hermione couldn't find an empty seat in the entire stadium.

"Hello everyone, I'm Davy Gudgeon- a fifth year Hufflepuff and I'll be commentating for the first match of the game, Gryffindor verves Ravenclaw," a voice announced throughout the pitch. "For the Gryffindor team we have McKinnon, Potter, Stebbins, King, Black, Smethley, and McKinnon," Davy said. "For those of you who are confused, Captain Potter has both McKinnon siblings this year. Mann is the starting seeker and Marlene is continuing her position as chaser, just as she has for the last two years.

And now let's bring out the Ravenclaw Team! We have Marshall, Dixon, Hughes, Reid, Bradley, Cooper, and Shaw! There are a lot of new faces on the Ravenclaw team this year, can this work in Captain Reid's favor, or is the team too new for success? Let's find out! Madam Hooch is giving the signal to mount their brooms. The quaffle is released and the game begins," Davy shouted this last part.

Hermione's adrenaline soared at these words, and she was immediately filled with the same feeling she remembered from previous games. The excitement, suspense, nerves, and so many other emotions. She kept her eyes on James and Sirius for the most part, but she also kept looking for the snitch. It was a habit of hers when she used to watch Harry play- almost like she could help him if she could find it and somehow get his attention to see it too.

"Annnd they're off! McKinnon gets it first. She passes to Potter he takes it down the pitch, but he's slowed down by a bludger hit by Bradley, and he drops it but it's caught by Stebbins. Stebbins swerves around Dixon and Marshall and throws it to McKinnon. McKinnon catches it and throws it to Potter. Potter throws it back and McKinnon shoots and SCORES! Ten points to Gryffindor," Davy announces.

Hermione and the rest of the group cheer for Gryffindors score.

"It's recovered by Marshall who takes it down the pitch and he meets up with Dixon and Hughes. The Ravenclaw chasers are attempting the Hawkshead attack against the Gryffindor players- it's been a successful play the last few years with a 70% success rate for this team. They are halfway down the pitch now and the way is clear for Marshall to score! Marshall makes it to the hoops and goes to score- Oh! The quaffle is dropped and Potter is there to scoop it up. Nice play from the Gryffindor beaters Black and King!"

The cheers from the Gryffindors in the stands were deafening at this. Hermione saw Sirius send a wink towards a group of girls in the Hufflepuff girls that were giggling and cheering for him. One of them she recognized as Miranda Greengrass, and Hermione was happy to see that she wasn't wearing a Gryffindor practice jersey.

"Potter has the quaffle and he passes to Stebbins, Stebbins passes back to Potter and swerves to avoid a bludger sent by Reid. Potter passes back to Stebbins who shoots. Cooper dives to block the goal. He misses and that's a goal- another ten points to Gryffindor! Wait, McKinnon takes a dive. The fit one- ouch! Sorry Professor, I mean the fit female one- if I'm honest they're both attractive. Anyway, Mann McKinnon is diving towards the ground and if I'm not mistaking that little glint of gold by the Ravenclaw goal posts is the snitch!"

Hermione looked down where the announcer was directing the crowd to look and he was right, the snitch was hovering just below the goal posts. Mann was diving down to reach it but the Ravenclaw seeker, Shaw, was hot on his tail.

"Shaw is right behind McKinnon, well the male McKinnon- bloody hell I'm just calling him Mann. Sorry about the language Minnie! Anyway, Shaw is closing the distance between him and Mann, but I don't know if it's going to be in time. Mann is reaching out, but Shaw has his arm in the mix too. Who will get it first and will there be a collision? Closer; closer; closer and… McKinnon- ugh I mean Mann- Mann McKinnon gets the snitch! Wow, that was a quick game. The score ends up at 170-0 Gryffindor! Great effort by Ravenclaw- the next match is in two weeks and its Hufflepuff verves Slytherin. Same time, same commentator! See you next time!"

Hermione turned to Lily who was sitting next to her. "Short game, huh?"

"Yeah, which is a bummer. I was hoping for a longer game. What did you think Ella?" Lily said to Hermione, but then turned to address the young girl sitting next to her.

With them next to each other, Ella could have passed for Lily's younger sister.

"It was great! I wish James had scored a goal," Ella said.

"Yeah, but he assisted on the two goals that Gryffindor did score," Hermione reasoned.

The group walked down the stairs of the stands and onto the pitch to congratulate the team. When they reach James and Sirius Hermione gave each of them a hug. Actually, each of the girls gave them a hug, except for Lily. Lily settled on a smile to James and was in the process of turning to give Sirius a smile too, but before she could turn to look at him he scooped her up and hugged her tight.

"Lily-flower, we won!" He yelled, tossing her up in the air a bit and then catching her again. Lily let out a little shriek at being thrown up in the air, but then laughed at his crazy antics.

"Yes you did," Lily said back.

James went over to Ella and scooped her up too. "I think you were my good luck!" he said to her. Ella giggled and blushed, but looked very pleased at his attention.

The rest of the group just chuckled at both boys antics and talked about the game for a few moments before James and Sirius needed to go change.

"Moony and Wormtail, we'll meet back up in the common room and par-tay!" Sirius exclaimed.

Remus and Peter nodded their understanding and walked up to the castle with the girls.

"So that was code for 'Sneak into Hogsmeade and go get such and such while we go down to the kitchens and get this and that and we'll meet back for a loud and messy celebration', right?" Hermione asked.

Peter snorted his amusement and Remus just shook his head.

"You know, sometimes it's like you've known us all our lives the way you can read us," Remus commented.

"I think it's because my friends back home were a lot like you guys," Hermione said. She wasn't lying. Her friends back home were EXACTLY like them… because they were them.

"Well, they sound like wonderful people," Peter said.

Hermione smiled at this. "Yeah they were. Now, back to the original topic, you guys are sneaking into Hogsmeade. Can I come?" she asked.

They both looked at her in shock. "You want to sneak out of the castle and go collect massive amounts of things we shouldn't eat or drink in large quantities all for a party that will be excessively loud and make a huge mess?" Remus asked questioningly.

"Yes," Hermione said a little questioningly. "I've used magic on other students and I've pulled a prank on the entire student body and professors. Why should this surprise you?"

"I don't know. I just needed to make sure you knew what you were in for," Remus replied before leading the way to the third floor of the school. When they reached the statue of the one eyed witch, Remus took out the Marauders Map and whispered _I solemnly swear that I am up to no good_ with a tap of his wand. He checked the surrounding corridors before tucking it back into his pocket. He looked towards Peter and gave a nod. Peter understood and tapped the witches hump and said _Dissendium_ and the hump slid open.

They made their way through the passage way under the school and came into the basement of Honeydukes.

"Okay, what we usually do is take stuff from down here and just leave the money for it," Remus explained. "But we've got to send someone to get butterbeer," he added looking at Hermione.

"Hmm… gee I guess I'll volunteer," she said sarcastically.

Remus chuckled at this and then pulled something else out from his pocket- the Invisibility Cloak.

"This is something that is another Marauder secret; I know you already know about the map. It belonged to James's father. It's an invisibility cloak. Put it on to get past the owners, and then put it back on to come back down here. We'll wait," Remus said.

"Wait, how will she carry it all," Peter asked.

Hermione smiled and held up her arm that had her beaded bag on it. "Never leave home without it," she said.

Hermione put on the cloak and walked through the store to the street out front. She followed the sidewalk until she was met with a familiar sight- The Three Broomsticks. She was about to open the door and walk in when she heard someone shouting her name. She looked around, confused and worried. If someone knew she was there then would she get in trouble for being out of the school grounds? But who would know her here?

Finally she spotted the person who had been calling her name- Benjy. She smiled at him as he walked up to her and felt her stomach tighten a little in nerves.

"Hey," she said.

"Hey," he replied. Then a teasing grin took over his face. "What are you doing out of school young lady?"

"I've been sent for butterbeer. It was the first Quidditch match of the season and Gryffindor won! I've got some friends who are picking up sweets from Honeydukes too." She told him.

"Nice, was it a good match?" he asked.

"I guess, but it was quick. Caught the snitch in the first five minutes, which is good but everyone was hoping for a little more. It was an anticlimactic beginning to the season." She explained.

"Bummer, but at least Gryffindor won. That's the most important part. Hey, I've got to get back to the store, but we're still on for our outing, right?" Benjy asked.

Hermione nodded her head shyly. "Yes," she answered and looked down at her feet. Benjy reached out a hand and tucked her hair behind her ear so she had a clear view of him.

"Good, I've been looking forward to it," he told her. Her face warmed at this, and he shot her one last smile before heading back towards the apothecary.

Hermione stood there, rooted to the spot for a moment before she remembered that Peter and Remus were waiting in the basement of Honeydukes for her to return with the butterbeer. She entered the pub and saw Rosmerta behind the bar.

"Hey," she said to her aunt.

"Hermione, what are you doing here? It's not your weekend to work, is it?" Rosmerta worried.

"Nope, just came to get some butterbeer for a Gryffindor celebratory party," Hermione explained. Rosmerta raised her eyebrow at this.

"Just so were clear, you've snuck out of school to get contraband for a party?" she said.

When Hermione smiled at this, Rosmerta tossed her hands up in the air and told her to go grab a case from the back storeroom. Hermione thanked her surrogate aunt and headed to the back room. She found a case and shrunk it so it would fit into her beaded bag before heading back out the door. She called her thanks to Rosmerta and hurried back to Honeydukes. Before she arrived there, Hermione slipped into the alley to the side of the building and took out the invisibility cloak. She covered herself with it and slipped back into the building, careful to avoid the customers and the owners, and head down to the basement.

"There she is," Peter said exasperatedly.

"We were worried, what took you so long?" Remus questioned her worriedly.

"Nothing. Well, I ran into someone and talked for a moment," she said quickly.

Remus raised his eyebrows at this, but didn't comment. "Okay, well we've got to head back. I bet James and Sirius are already back from the kitchens at this point."

"Do you want to put the food into my bag," Hermione asked.

"Good idea," Peter said. "That way no one will see it."

They hurried back down the secret passage way and up to the Gryffindor common room. Remus and Peter were right, the party was already started. There were all kinds of food set up and music playing from an enchanted radio.

"There they are! Merlin's beard that took you a long time!" James announced as Hermione, Remus and Peter walked in. Sirius looked over when James said that and punched a fist into the air.

"Yeah, now the party can really begin!"


	16. Chapter 16

**A/N:** I have so many ideas, but the hardest part is figuring out how to set them up in an order than makes sense! Gahh… I've reworked this chapter… and the next two at least 6 times. I've also rewritten this authors note four times. And in the end, this chapter was just a bit on the shorter end then I prefer, and there's more filler stuff in here.

Disclaimer- I don't own Harry Potter. There's no way I could come up with a story where if you hit a tree, a tree hits you back. Actually, now that I think of it there is something like that in the Wizard of Oz… but I don't own that either!

Chapter 16

The party was a big one. Even though it was a Sunday night and they all had classes the next day, it didn't stop the entire house from enjoying a night of frivolity. The older students and the prefects managed to keep an eye on the younger students to make sure that they weren't having _too_ much fun.

Hermione walked over to the table of drinks that was being manned by James.

"Alright, which ones are spiked?" she asked.

"I like it, straight shooter! Not beating around the hedge," James laughed.

"You mean beating around the bush," Hermione corrected.

James just smiled. "The blue cups. Red ones are fine." Hermione took a red cup and moved over to the dance floor.

"Hey," she said when she reached her friends.

"'MIONE!" Sirius greeted with his arms out wide.

"I thought we talked about that nickname?" she said with an edge in her voice.

"Kitten!" He then shouted.

Hermione looked around at the rest of the group.

"Someone had been enjoying the blue cups?" she asked.

"Someone has had about three blue cups at this point," Lily answered. "Where were you?"

"I snuck down to Hogsmeade with Remus and Peter to get supplies for the party," Hermione said. Lily's eyes went wide.

"You snuck out?" she repeated.

"Yeah," Hermione admitted.

Lily bit her lip, looking unsure; like she was having an internal debate with herself.

"What?" Hermione asked.

Lily's shoulders sagged. "I'm torn between scolding you as a prefect and asking you how you did it because it would be _so_ helpful to know about when it comes time for Christmas shopping."

Hermione burst into laughter, and threw an arm around Lily's shoulders. "I'll show you sometime. Maybe we can have a girl's night out," she said loudly so the other females in the area could here too.

"Ooh, that would be so much fun!" Mary squealed.

"I could be down with that," Marlene agreed.

"So where did you go in Hogsmeade? Did you happen to stray past the apothecary? Did you happen to see a gorgeous brown haired man?" Dorcas teased.

Hermione's face warmed a bit. "NO, but I did run into him outside the Three Broomsticks," she admitted.

"Tell. Me. Everything." Mary pleaded.

"It was nothing. He asked me what I was doing and I told him that Gryffindor had won..." she was interrupted here by Sirius cheering. "And he made sure we were still on for the Hogsmeade weekend."

"That's it?" Mary said exasperatedly.

"Ladies, quit standing there and shake what your momma gave you," Sirius yelled from the middle of the dance floor.

"He's not going to feel so good tomorrow, is he?" Hermione said as Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas walked out to meet him.

"No, he isn't," Lily agreed. The two girls shrugged their shoulders and joined the rest of the groups.

"Oi! Prongs! Where are you? You're missing out on all the ladies," Sirius shouted. He grabbed Hermione's hand and twirled her around. She laughed and he pulled her closer, holding her waist. She put her arm on his shoulder and smiled up at him.

"You're feeling pretty good tonight, huh?" she asked.

"Impeccable," he replied.

"You didn't learn anything from my birthday party?"

"What are you talking about? That was a brilliant celebration," he mocked.

"Alright, but when you wake up spooning James again, I won't be able to stop the gossip from spreading," she teased.

"Hey, I'd be lucky to do better than dear Jamsie," Sirius laughed. "Speaking of doing better, are you serious about this Brad guy?"

"You mean Benjy?" she asked.

"Yeah, him." Sirius answered flippantly.

"It's just a Hogsmeade visit," she said. Hermione tried to be nonchalant the way she voiced it. "Plus, I don't even know if it's actually a date."

"Yeah, but I mean how serious are you about him?" He asked, the laughter gone from his face.

"I don't know. I'm going because he's nice, and he seems like a good person and…" she trailed off. Sirius raised his eyebrows in a gesture for her to continue explaining.

"… and he asked me," she finished. She looked right into his eyes at this, their movement stilled during this time. Her brown eyes met his grey ones, each one lost in their own thoughts about this last thing she said. He looked away first, shaking his head and putting a fake grin on his lips.

"That's all it takes, just the simple act of asking?" he teased.

"It's a start. You never know if you don't ask," she told him truthfully and in little more than a whisper.

There was almost too much truth in her words. She was telling him explicitly what she was feeling, and that was a dangerous idea. Yeah, she liked him. Yeah, she wanted him. But was it a good idea? That was a question she didn't have the answer too. When she had left the year 1998 she had promised Dumbledore's portrait that she would try to minimize her impact on the future as much as she could, while still saving everyone possible. Was that something that plausible? Could she do it? Should she try?

If she tried and she couldn't do it, would she miss out on amazing opportunities that won't come around again? If she did try, what were the consequences for the future?

Sirius raised his gaze back to her eyes again, and somehow their bodies and faces were alarmingly close. She wasn't aware of anything around her, all her attention was on the boy standing in front of her. Her eyes dipped down to look at his lips, and then back up to his eyes. She tilted her head to the side, and she felt his hand on her waist tighten- their lips mere inches away.

Suddenly both of them were knocked to the side when James came running straight through the dance floor.

"You can't get away from me that easily Moony," he shouted over the heads of the onlookers.

Hermione laughed and shook her head. She needed to clear her mind of the haze the last few moments had put her in. She took a deep breath and turned back to Sirius. His gaze never wavered, never moved from her face.

She wanted so many things in that moment. She wanted to run up to her room and get the time turner and go back into the past 30 seconds ago so she could kiss him before James had ruined the moment. She wanted to go back in time and break away before the moment had become as intimate as it had. She wanted to ask him what he was thinking, and she wanted to know if he understood what she had been trying to tell him.

She gave him a half smile. "Thanks for the dance," and then walked over to the other side of the room, taking a seat next to Peter.

"Hey! Enjoying the party?" he asked.

"I guess," Hermione answered distractedly.

They sat there in silence for a moment, each one lost in their thoughts.

"You're… different from the other girls he usually goes after," Peter said after a moment.

"Excuse me?" Hermione said shocked.

"I just mean that… you don't just fall over him. He's never had to work to get attention before," Peter explained. "I think he's unsure if he wants to put the work in. If he puts the work in then there is more to lose if something doesn't go right."

Hermione didn't say anything, but absorbed everything he was saying.

"Plus, I honestly don't think he's ready for someone like you just yet," Peter added.

This comment took Hermione by surprise. "What do you mean? Is there something wrong with me?"

Peter colored a little bit at this. "What? No, that's not what I meant. I just mean that… you're great. You would be great for him. I just don't think he's ready for all your greatness. He's not… he would take it for granted when really he should consider himself lucky."

Hermione felt a little bit of moisture in the corners of her eyes, and she leaned over and hugged Peter without a word. How could the man that she had met when she was thirteen… the guy who got his best friends killed, locked up in Azkaban, and left alone to suffer the full moons. How was this the same guy that was saying all these wonderful things to her? What happened to him to change him so drastically?

"Thank you," she whispered to him. He gave her a little squeeze before they separated. "But… how did you know?" she asked. "Was it… obvious?"

"Only to me," he said with a shrug. "I like to watch. People forget about the person whose quiet, and they let their guards down. I see a lot more than you think."

Hermione nodded her head. "Yeah, I get that. Hey, wanna dance?"

The rest of the evening passed by with everyone enjoying themselves in their own way; Hermione danced and had a great time with her friends. Neither her nor Sirius made any comment about what had passed between them earlier in the evening, and gave each other space throughout the rest of the party. However, that didn't stop him from the consumption of more alcohol.

"Hey everyone! When I say Gryffin- you say dor! GRYFFIN!" Sirius shouted from on top of a table.

"Give it a rest Padfoot," James moaned from his spot of the couch between Lily and Hermione. Sirius jumped down and came over to sit with the rest of the group.

"This is a great party. Moony, wasn't this a great party?" Sirius said slinging an arm around Remus's shoulders.

"It was great," Remus said.

"Really great?" Sirius then turned towards Marlene.

"Yeah, really great," Marlene nodded.

"It was really great," Sirius said with a yawn.

"Is someone starting to get sleepy?" Dorcas asked.

"I'm not tired, I'm bored. You guys are boring," he said. He leaned his head down onto Remus's lap and closed his eyes. "Let me know when you," Sirius was interrupted with a yawn. "When you stop being boring," he finished. Everyone around him chuckled.

"He's going to be a sad sight in the morning, huh?" Lily asked.

"He's gonna be right grumpy," James agreed.

"And how will you feel in the morning?" Marlene asked.

"I'll be alright," he said with a wave of his hand. His head was leaned back against the couch and he looked like he was headed in the same direction as his best mate.

"Well this party escalated quickly, and it deescalated just as quickly," Hermione observed.

"Yeah, they crash as hard as they start," Peter noticed. The only reply was a snore from the snoozing Sirius in Remus's lap.

"So what happens now?" Hermione asked. "Anyone up for a game of chess?"

"I'll play," Peter said.

"Great," Hermione agreed. Hermione walked over to the table with a chair on either end. James moaned in his sleep and turned over so his head was resting on in the crook between Lily's shoulder and her chest. He brought his other hand around her front to drape it around her waist.

"Umm…" Lily said unsure. She didn't move, but looked very uncomfortable. She looked conflicted between wanting to shove him off of her, and not wanting to move and wake him. However, she didn't have long to struggle with her indecision long because Professor McGonagall came in through the portrait at that moment. She was wearing her tartan dressing gown and started telling her students that while she was very glad that Gryffindor had won the first match of the season- if they didn't all get to bed in the next 5 minutes she would give detention to the whole lot of them.

"So I guess our game will have to wait," Hermione said. "Rain check?"

"Absolutely," Peter agreed.

Hermione looked over at the two sleeping Marauders with a curious expression.

"What are you going to do about them?" she asked.

Remus just gave her a mischievous smile, then put his hand on Sirius's shoulder and gave him a shove off of the couch. Sirius hit the floor with _thud_ and woke with a groan.

"Whass happening?" he moaned. He didn't open his eyes, but curled up on his side.

"It's time to go to sleep," Remus crooned.

"I _was_ sleeping," Sirius argued.

"In your bed," Remus corrected.

"Whose bed am I in?" Sirius asked groggily. That received a snort of amusement from his werewolf friend. Remus opened his mouth to say something, and then shut it with a smirk. He looked around at the group and winked at them.

"You're in Snape's bed," he said very seriously.

Sirius shot up from the floor at this and began looking around wildly.

"WHAT!" he yelled, his breath coming in and out in shallow gasps. When he took in the people standing around him and the color of the common room, he let out a long sigh of relief, and then turned his head to glare at Remus.

"Fuck you Moony," he said. He got up off the floor and stomped up the stairs to the boy's dormitory. Before he got all the way to the stairs, he looked back to see James with his head resting on Lily.

"Way to go Prongs," he said and sent a wink in Lily's direction. Lily shot him a glare and Sirius hurried up the stairs.

The group was left chuckling in his wake.

"Alright, one down and one to go," Hermione said. Everyone looked towards James and Lily. Lily looked around the room from face to face, hoping someone was going to volunteer to help wake him up. When no one said anything, she sighed and started tapping his forehead.

"Potter," she said quietly. He didn't move. "Wake up Potter," she said a little louder.

James let out a sigh at this. "Lily," it sounded like.

Lily's face turned as red as her hair. She raised her hand and hit him on the top of his head. "Potter, get off me," she said loudly.

James opened his eyes quickly at the tone of her voice, and looked around at his friends. Then his eyes drifted up to her face, and then down to her chest where his face was resting. He pulled back quickly, his face bright red in embarrassment.

"Sorry," he mumbled and he looked around at his surroundings. "Did I miss something?"

"Yeah, McGonagall said time for bed," Hermione told him.

"Oh," was all James said. He got up and waved good night to everyone. He turned to look a Lily and he even opened his mouth to say something, but thankfully Lily got there first.

"It's probably best if you don't say anything," Lily told him. James, if possible, went redder and gave her a sheepish smile.

"Thanks," he said before turning and heading up the stairs.

"Well, I'm going to bed too," Lily told everyone. Mary, Dorcas, and Marlene follower her upstairs.

"We've got to go too, Pete. We have to make sure those two don't do anything stupid," Remus commented.

"Remus, wait! I before you go can I ask you something about our potions homework," Hermione said in a pointed voice. Remus looked a little confused, but turned towards peter.

"I'll be up in a minute. Please make sure that Sirius sleeps in his own bed this time," Remus told him. Peter laughed.

"You didn't like waking up to him spooning you?" Peter teased.

"I don't even want to know," Hermione muttered. Remus ignored her.

"Just make sure everyone is settled in their own beds please," he told his friend.

"Alright, but if I have to sing James to sleep then you owe me. I did it the last two times," Peter complained.

"I'll let you copy my Transfiguration homework if that happens," Remus offered.

"Deal!" Peter exclaimed and took off up the stairs. Remus turned to Hermione.

"You have to sing James to sleep?" she asked with raised eyebrows.

"It's not what you think. Sometimes when he's pissed he has a hard time going to sleep. His mother spoiled him and it's either that or listen to him list the reasons why Lily Evans should go out with him," Remus explained. "But I don't think you wanted to talk about James Potter's sleeping habits."

"No, I didn't. I wanted to ask you how you are feeling. You've been taking the potion for a few days and I wanted to know if there were any side effects?" she asked him.

"None that I can tell; the taste is bloody awful, but if it does what you say it can do than I'll gladly take that," Remus said.

"Okay, I just wanted to check in. I've never made it before and I wanted to make sure that I didn't poison you," she half-heartedly joked.

"Erm, well thanks?" He asked her and they both laughed.

"Alright, you might want to go check up on Peter. If James and Sirius are as challenging as you say they are then I don't think you should leave him alone for too long," Hermione reminded him.

Remus sighed. "I suppose. Good night, Hermione."

"Good night Remus."

The full moon that month went very similarly to the one the previous month. It was a Friday night, so that meant the common room was busy later into the evening then during the week. Hermione spent her time doing homework in the common room, occasionally pacing in front of the windows to the grounds, and then eventually falling asleep on the couch. However, there was something different about this month- the potion. Hermione was _dying_ to know how effective it was. She wanted to know what they were doing, if Remus was himself, and if it helped.

James woke her up this time, and while he did seem tired, he didn't look quite as worn out as he had the previous month.

"Hey," he said when she opened her eyes. "It's almost dawn. If you go up to bed you'll be able to get a few more hours of sleep."

"Yeah," Hermione said groggily. "Have you seen him?" she asked.

"Yeah, and he seems good- really good actually. I bet he might even make it to afternoon lessons tomorrow," James said with a smile.

"Really?" Hermione said hopefully.

"Maybe. Now go up to bed," he said while pulling her to her feet and guiding her up the stairs.

Hermione went right to bed when she reached her dormitory, but woke up only a few hours later. She wanted to go to the hospital wing early and she couldn't wait, she need to see him. Hermione dressed quickly in her muggle clothing, a pair of bell bottomed jeans and a black long-sleeved sweater. Hermione stopped by the kitchens before the hospital wing to grab a quick breakfast and some chocolate for Remus.

When Hermione reached the hospital wing it looked like it was deserted. At the end of the room there were curtains drawn around one of the beds, but other than that it was empty. Hoping to be quiet enough to sneak over to him, Hermione only took a couple steps in the direction of the curtains before Madam Pomfrey caught her.

"Miss. Granger," the nurse called. Hermione stopped, and then slowly turned on the stop.

"Good morning Madam Pomfrey," she said in a slickly sweet voice.

"What can I do for you this morning," Madam Pomfrey asked.

"I was hoping to see Remus," Hermione said.

The nurse froze. "He's ill. A cold by the sounds of it- he should be fine by tonight and you can see him then," she said quickly.

"It's alright ma'am, I know." Hermione said.

"Know what?" the nurse questioned with an alarmed expression.

"I know about his… lunar related illness," Hermione said cryptically.

"Well, he's to have no visitors this morning. He needs rest," Madam Pomfrey said briskly.

Hermione's shoulders sank. "Please! I won't wake him. I won't even talk to him. I just want to sit with him. Five minutes?" Hermione negotiated. From all of the time she came to visit Harry in the hospital wing, she knew that the nurse usually only allowed five minutes, and used that to her advantage.

Madam Pomfrey let out a sigh. "Okay, but only five minutes! If it were any other time I would say absolutely not, but he's in a remarkably good fashion today."

Hermione turned around and walked down to the far end of the ward and slowly pulled back the curtains to reveal the sandy haired werewolf sleeping in the bed.

He actually looked really good for the morning after the full moon. He was sleeping on his side, but from what she could tell he only had a few new scratches- but they didn't look like they would scar.

Actually, if the potion _had_ worked then the scratches probably are not even from him scratching himself. It's more likely that they're from either the large dog or the stag with giant antlers that he had spent the evening frolicking around with.

He had bag under his eyes, but that's to be expected when you're up all night and completely transform your body into a wolf and back again. She moved closer to the bed and sat in the chair next to it. Hermione remembered that she had brought some chocolate from the kitchen with her, and reached into her bag to retrieve it. She put it on the night stand and then turned back to look at him. Tentatively, she reached over and swept the hair out of his face so she could have a better look at him. There were no other injuries that she could see, which was further evidence that the potion had been of some help. However, she would really know the extent to which it worked until he awoke.

She gave him one last look and then got up and headed out of the hospital wing. She probably had another moment or two to be in there, but she wanted to make it known to Madam Pomfrey that she could follow all of the rules set for her. Hermione wanted to be regularly allowed to visit Remus before and after his transformations.

The day went by slowly, and Hermione didn't know when to expect Remus back. Last month, it she hadn't seen him until the next morning, but James had said that Remus was feeling a lot better after this transformation. Therefore Hermione had kept her eyes peeled for any sign of him.

"Where's Remus?" Mary asked at lunch.

"He's sick," James replied.

"Really? It seems like he's always sick," Mary remarked.

"Yeah, he's easily susceptible to colds," Sirius added.

"It's like he's sick every couple of weeks," Dorcas noted.

"Dragons!" Sirius yelled. Everyone looks around with confusion and concern on their faces, before turning back to Sirius.

"Why did you just yell 'dragons'?" Marlene asked.

"I uhh… See what I meant was…" Sirius fumbled for something to change the subject too.

"Hagrid has always wanted a dragon, right Sirius? He told us the other day. Is that what you were going to say?" Hermione tried to help him out. Sirius shot her a grateful look.

"Yeah, that's what I was saying. What kind of nutter would want a pet dragon?" he asked.

"I don't know, but it would be really dangerous. They banned them for a reason. You need to be specially trained in order to work with them," Lily explained.

"Yeah, plus they would catch everything on fire," Mary said.

"But how cool are dragons," Sirius said looking at the other guys.

"They might be cool, but definitely not an appropriate pet," Dorcas said.

"I had a friend who smuggled a dragon into their house and tried to raise it as their pet," Hermione told the group casually.

"What?" James exclaimed.

"Wicked!" Sirius said awed.

"Really?" Marlene said unbelievingly.

"Really- anyone want to take a guess at what he named it?" Hermione offered.

"Spike!" Sirius guessed.

"No." Hermione answered.

"Hydra!" James yelled.

"No."

"Savage Inferno!" said Sirius.

"No."

"Just tell them," Mary moaned in annoyance.

"Fire Serpent!" James exclaimed.

"Please just shut up!" Marlene begged.

"Deadly Rage!" Sirius then shouted

"Hermione I swear…" Lily threatened.

"Blazing Siren!" James yelled.

"Alright! His name was Norbert," Hermione told them.

"Aww… why'd you tell me? That was my next guess!" Sirius complained.

"No it wasn't," James argued.

"What, like you would have come up with that?" Sirius taunted.

"Maybe I would," James mocked.

"Anyway, what happened? He couldn't keep it, could he?" Lily asked.

"No, of course not- he gave him up. My other friend, Ron- his brother works with dragons in Romania. He moved Norbert to a place where he could be free," Hermione explained. "Actually, we found out after the fact that Norbert was actually a Norberta," She laughed.

"You sound like you're full of stories like that," James laughed.

"Remind me to tell you about the time when one of my professors turned this bully into a ferret," Hermione laughed.

"Can we get him to teach here?" Sirius asked eagerly. "I'd like to see Snape turned into a bullfrog."

They all started walking back to their common room. However, Hermione didn't get very far down the hall before she heard someone shouting her name. She turned in time to see Remus Lupin running down the hall towards her. He crashed into and crushed her into a bone breaking hug. After a moment he lifted her up and spun the two of them around.

"I take it that everything went tell last night?" Hermione whispered in his ear.

Remus put her down and kissed her on the forehead. "You are amazing," was all he said.

From behind them there was a loud sound of someone clearing their throat obnoxiously loud, and they both turned to face their friends who all had looks of confusion on their faces.

"Is there something you two would like to share with the class?" James teased.

"Erm… it's just that Hermione… she um- well see the thing is," Remus tried to explain. He was stammering and rubbing his hand on the back of his head in a nervous motion.

"It's just that I knew Remus wasn't feeling well and I gave him a muggle remedy that my mum used to give me. I guess it really helped," Hermione explained. The girls all nodded their heads in understanding. Hermione was purposely avoiding the rest of the Marauders gaze as she said this. They knew why Remus was in the hospital wing, and also knew that not muggle remedy would cure him of his lycanthropy.

"So, have you been released into the custody of the Gryffindor House?" Hermione asked Remus.

"It's not like he's been in Azkaban or anything," Mary joked.

"You clearly haven't spent much time in the hospital wing," Remus joked. "Yes, I've paid my dues and have been released into society again. I was going to go catch up on some work in the common room," Remus said.

"Okay, we'll I've got all your notes from today and yesterday," Hermione said as they all started walking again.

"Thanks," He said with a genuine smile.


	17. Chapter 17

**A/N:** And here's another chapter! I've been working hard for you guys these last few days, and I would say it's paid off! After this one I've still got another chapter that's almost done =]]

Disclaimer: I can't take credit for anything related to Harry Potter.

Chapter 17

Sunday was an unseasonably warm day. The group of sixth year Gryffindors girls spent the day outside on the lawns just enjoying the sun.

"Why can't I live somewhere that's warm all year?" Marlene moaned as she stretched out on the lawn by the Black Lake.

"Because then you wouldn't be here," Lily reasoned, looking up from her book.

"Why can't you just let me complain in peace?" Marlene said, turning her neck to look at Lily over her shoulder.

"Hey, what's that?" Mary suddenly exclaimed. She was pointing to something large and black over by Hagrids cabin.

"I don't know. It looks like a bear," Dorcas said nervously.

"No, it's not a bear. The way it's walking… it's something else," Lily said. She squinted her eyes in order to see clearer. The bright sun was making it harder to see all the details from a distance.

"It's a dog," Hermione finally breathed.

"A dog? What would a dog be doing out on the grounds?" Marlene said.

"I don't know. Do you think it belongs to someone?" Lily asked with concern.

As the dog drew nearer and nearer, Hermione knew exactly what it was- or rather, who it was. Padfoot was walking toward them, sniffing things here and there. He walked up to the water and took a few laps of it, before continuing on his way. He stopped after a time, lifted his head and sniffed the air. A moment later his head turned towards the group of girls. Hermione wondered what he was going to do, knowing that he would recognize them.

Before Hermione could think any further, Padfoot happily trotted over to them. The girl were a little wary when he got close to the, so Padfoot slowed his pace, and wagged his tail happily as he approached.

Lily was the one who approached him first. When he got within reaching distance she stuck her hand out for him to sniff. He stepped forward and sniffed her hand, before nudging his head underneath her palm. Getting the message, Lily started patting him and scratching him behind the ears. She found a particularly good spot behind his right ear and his let started thumping on the grass.

Lily laughed at this, and the other girls seemed to relax. Mary, Marlene, and Dorcas moved closer and all stuck their hands out to the dog too. The same steps were repeated with them as by Lily. Hermione didn't know how, but before she knew it the girls all hand Padfoot lying on his back and they were scratching every part of him they could reach. His leg was thumping wildly and the four girls were all giggling at his reaction.

"Hermione, do you want to come pet him?" Mary asked.

Hermione knew that she had too- but it was weird. She wasn't supposed to know it was Sirius, and she couldn't feign being frightened. She also didn't want Sirius to suspect her of suspecting him. It was a lot to keep straight in her head. Maybe she should keep a journal?

Anyway, Hermione also felt a bit weird about scratching her friend's belly. A friend who can secretly turn into a dog and who Hermione has feelings for; she just thought it was a bit creepy to just casually go over and give him a belly rub. Plus, the thumping leg was also a bit weird when put into context. It was almost… sexual. And dogs and sex were two things no one should ever think about. But it wasn't a dog- well it was but it was Sirius _as_ a dog. That also made a correlation between Sirius and sex and Hermione had been doing her best to not think about that lately. It didn't help that the dog then let out a little whine when Mary scratched a spot under his neck, making her mind start to wonder. Is that a sensitive spot for Sirius when he's in human for? If she kissed his neck there, would his leg shake or would he whimper?

" _Helloooo!_ Earth to Hermione," Marlene exclaimed.

Hermione was shaken out of her thoughts, and just in time. If she had gone on any longer-Godric knows where she would have wandered.

"Yeah… I mean yes, I'd like to pet him," Hermione said. She shook her head one more time for good measure, and walked over to Padfoot. Lily moved over so Hermione could have more room, and she put her hand up to the dog's nose so he could smell her. The dog took one sniff and licked her hand.

"I think he likes you," Mary cooed.

Hermione scratched the dog behind his ears a few times, and then gave him a few pats on his chest- right in the middle of the chest, and nowhere else.

When Hermione was done petting the dog, she stood up and let Lily have her spot back again. However, Padfoot seemed to have a different idea. He rolled over and stood back up. Shaking his fur out a little bit, he took a few steps forward until he was right in front of Hermione. Then he sat down and stared at her.

"Uhh…," Hermione said uneasily.

"He wants you to pet him," Dorcas encouraged.

Hermione looked at her friends smiling faces, and then looked down at the canine face in front of her. His grey eyes looked exactly the same as they did when he was in his human form. How did they not know?

She kneeled down and to pet the dog on his head. Padfoot leapt up onto his back legs, putting his front paws on Hermione shoulders, and proceeded to lick every inch of her face.

"Ugh…," Hermione complained and she gently pushed him off of her.

The girls from her dorm were laughing at this. Hermione stood up and looked down at the dog. She wanted to be mad at him. However, when she did look at him, his eyes were almost glowing with excitement and amusement and his tail was wagging so hard it was a wonder the leaves on the lawn weren't being blown away. You just couldn't be mad looking at that face.

"Alright, I guess you're cute," Hermione admitted. Padfoot barked, stood up and started to chase his tail. He spun around and around before finally stopping and sitting back down in the same spot.

"You are very talented," Hermione told him. Padfoot barked again. Hermione couldn't help but laugh. She leaned down and kissed him right on the nose. Padfoot barked a lot this time, before taking off. He ran off in the direction he came from, and within a minute he was out of sight.

"Huh, I wonder where he came from. He has to belong to someone- did you see those tricks?" Mary observed.

"Yeah, I just hope he's okay," Lily said.

"He'll be fine," Hermione answered.

"I wonder if we'll see him again." Dorcas questioned.

"I don't know," Marlene said.

"I bet we will. Judging by the way he reacted to all of the attention. I'd say it's likely that we'll see him again," Hermione told them.

Later on in the common room, Mary and Marlene were telling the Marauders about the mysterious dog that they met down by the lake.

"He was so cute," Mary squeaked.

"Yeah, and he was so friendly," Marlene added.

"Would you say he was sexy?" Sirius asked.

"Eww… that's gross. Dogs aren't sexy," Mary said.

"I'd say he was a bit of a show off," Hermione said, jumping into the conversation. "And a flirt," she added.

"Really?" Sirius asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, he was showing off his tricks to get attention, licked me all over my face, and then when he was done with us he took off," Hermione said with mock seriousness.

"OI! Evans!" Sirius shouted. He looked back at Hermione. "Let's get another opinion. EVANS!"

Lily came stomping over to them. "What do you want? I'm sitting just over there. You could have walked over," she said with a note of annoyance in her voice.

"I just wanted the group to hear what you had to say. And because from this angle my boy James has a good view of your… assets," Sirius said to her.

"Thanks mate," James laughed. Lily turned and glared at him. At the same time, Hermione had put her head in her hands at his comment, and the combination of the two was enough to effectively shut him up.

"What. Do. You. Want." Lily asked with her jaw locked tight in frustration.

"I heard you guys made a friend out on the law today. I am curious to hear about it," Sirius said innocently.

Lily's face lightened. "Oh, well a big black dog came out of the woods. He let us pet him and did some tricks for us before he ran off," she explained.

"Yeah, but what did you think of him?" Sirius prodded.

"I think he was desperate for attention and left when he got what he wanted," she said.

Hermione then jumped in. "Thanks Lily that was all he wanted."

Lily looked confused, but walked back to her chair in front of the fire.

Hermione turned to look at Sirius, who was sulking. Hermione opened her mouth to say something, but Sirius held up a hand.

"Don't say it," he told her. She snorted.

"Say what?" she said innocently.

"You know," he warned her.

"You mean that I was right?" Hermione guessed.

"Moony!" Sirius yelled.

"Sirius, I'm right next to you. You absolutely do not have to yell. Actually, I would prefer it if you didn't," Remus said. He was clutching the left side of his head, the side that had been closest to the assault that Sirius's voice had just rained down upon.

"I can't do it. I can't take it anymore. There can't be two of you. Actually, if you count Evans then it's three, and that two too many. There can only be one who's always right. First it was you. Evans, well she never was around that much for it to cause a problem. But now we've got her," he said dramatically and pointed a finger at Hermione. "And you, Moony, have got to make a decision. One of you has to give up, and start getting things wrong like the rest of us."

"Sirius, that's ridiculous," Hermione began to say.

"I KNOW IT'S RIDICULOUS!" He shouted. "I know, because you're the one who said it. But it's also true. I can't do it." Sirius got up and stomped up to the staircase. He after ascending a couple of stairs up, and then turned to look at James.

"Prongs- come on," Sirius said in a stage whisper.

"Why?"

"Because I need you to make a dramatic exit with me," Sirius said like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

James got up off the couch and looked at Hermione and Remus. He then pretended to toss his hair over his shoulder and followed Sirius up the stairs.

Hermione turned to Remus. "You've done this for six years?" she asked.

"Yep," was all he said.

The rest of the month flew by. It seemed like the professors were trying to match the student's moods with the weather. Hermione had never seen a wetter month. Every day it seemed, it rained. One of the greenhouses started flooding, and they had to move the class into a classroom for the remainder of the week. Hagrid, with the help of Filch and Professor Sprout, were able to fix the issue within a few days, and everything was as good as new.

Hermione worked her weekend at the Three Broomsticks, but with the weather as it was- no one wanted to leave their house. It was a dull time, and Hermione ended up teaching Rosmerta how to play muggle card games for the remainder of the afternoon.

Finally, it was time for the Hogsmeade weekend. Rosmerta had sent in Hermione's permission form, and everything was all set. Even Mother Nature seemed to give them a bit of a reprieve from the down pours. When Hermione woke up she noticed the absence of the _pitter patter_ of raindrops on the windows. Instead, the grounds were covered in a layer of thick fog. Hermione shrugged her shoulders. Well, it was better than rain.

She got up and got ready. The girls had helped her pick out an outfit the night before, and so Hermione had borrowed a brown A-line skirt from Lily, red tights from Mary, and she had a navy blue button down shirt that she tucked in, and she paired it with black ankle boots.

"Did you and Benjy set up a time to meet?" Dorcas asked.

"Yeah, noon at the Three Broomsticks," Hermione told them.

The girls all giggled and cooed at her. She brushed them off, her cheeks tinted with pink. She was nervous enough as it was, it didn't help that they were adding to it.

"You guys ready?" She asked.

The girls all headed down the stairs, the marauders as usual waiting in the common room for them.

"You ladies all look very nice," Remus observed.

"They always look beautiful," James added- his eyes pinned on Lily.

"And we all know how great I look," Sirius announced. Everyone rolled their eyes.

Breakfast was a short affair. They all just grabbed something quick and then headed towards the Entrance Hall.

"You guys go ahead. I'm meeting Miranda here in a few minutes," Sirius told them.

"So that's still happening?" Remus asked him.

"Yes it is, Moony my friend," Sirius answered with a wiggle of his eyebrows and a wink of his eye.

"Eww… don't be gross," Lily scolded.

"What? It's natural," he replied. Everyone waved him good bye.

Filch was checking students off on a piece of parchment, and then they headed down the path towards Hogsmeade. The fog was still there and it felt a damp feeling in the atmosphere. However, it was still better than the rain that had been pouring down on them for the last few weeks.

"So where would you like to go first?" Dorcas asked Hermione.

"I don't know- where do you guys usually go first?" Hermione said.

"Well everyone usually goes to either Zonkos or Honeydukes first." Dorcas told her.

"Well, I've been to Honeydukes. Well… it's more like I've peeked inside it." Hermione said.

"It's still early in the day, so it probably won't be too crowded in there," Dorcas reasoned. The girls walked over to the sweet shop and entered inside. It was nice and warm inside, and it smelled sweet. The shop looked the same as it did in her time- the brightly colors walls clashing wonderfully with the different kinds of sweets that littered the shelves.

"And the shop owners run a special on Hogsmeade weekends. Fill up one of these bags and it's only a Galleon," Mary told her, passing everyone one of the plastic cellophane bags.

"Brilliant!" Hermione exclaimed.

The girls spent a long time in the sweet shop, trying new candies, making suggestions for one another, and maneuvering around all of the other customers doing the same. When they had all filled up their bags, they paid for their sweets and headed outside again into the foggy street.

"Where do we go next?" Hermione asked.

"How about Zonkos? I know it will be busy, but it's definitely worth a trip," Marlene suggested.

"Sure," Hermione agreed and the girls headed down to the joke shop. Again, it was just like Hermione remembered. There were a lot of the older joke products, which was interesting to see. Something that she had never thought about before was the evolution of joke products. Looking around at the shelves that were filled with troublemaking supplies, Hermione could see how some of the newer materials had been change and evolved from those before her. This though had her shaking her head and chuckling. Why, if only Fred and George could see her now!

The girls perused the shelves filled with Dungbombs, fake wands, and fireworks. Dr. Filibuster seemed to still be a popular brand in this time. Hermione and the girls ran into James, Remus, and Peter in the section of muggle magic tricks. Remus was trying to explain to James and Peter about the muggle trick of finding a coin behind someone's ear.

"So then when your hand is out of their eye sight, you move the coin to your palm your hand and bring it in front of them, so it looks like you just found it," Remus told them.

"But, that's not really magic," Peter said with a confused expression on his face.

"Yeah, that's just trickery," James insisted.

"Well, I guess it is. But you have to remember that muggles don't actually have magic, so they have to make it only _seem_ like magic. It's the best they can do," Remus tried to tell them.

"And people like this?" James asked, wrinkling his nose.

"Well, when it's done properly it's quite believable," Lily interrupted.

"Really?" Peter said unsure.

"Muggle magicians perform shows in huge theatres and sell out," Lily informed them.

"What? People pay these… _magicians,_ " James said with a hint of derision in his voice. "They pay them to trick them?"

"You know what, James? During the holidays I'll see if I can find a show around muggle London and we can go see it. Maybe you'll understand better once you experience it," Hermione suggested. James's face clearly said that he didn't believe so, but he just nodded and put the box with the coin trick back on the shelf. His eyes moved over to the card tricks.

"And what do they do with these, huh? Play that War game that Lily and Dorcas were playing the other night?" He said sarcastically.

"No, those are card tricks. They do mag… uhh tricks with those, too." Lily explained. At this James began to sputter in annoyance.

"Maybe you guys should move him away from the muggle section," Hermione said to Peter and Remus.

The girls didn't spend too much longer in the store after their interactions with the Marauders. However, they did spend over an hour in Gladrags Wizardwear clothing store. Dorcas, Mary, and Marlene spent a long time picking out new robes in and trying them on. Hermione and Lily both became bored after 20 minutes, but stayed to support their friends.

However, a few minutes before noon, Hermione said good bye to the girls and headed back outside to meet Benjy at the Three Broomsticks.

When she reached the building, Benjy was already waiting there. He looked; well for the time period she would say that he looked very stylish. Hermione had come to appreciate the women's clothing of the period (minus the too tight pants, but she still didn't understand men's fashion. He was wearing tight bell bottoms that were patterned with brown and tan, a navy blue shirt that was also- you guess it- tight and it was tucked it. A black belt and black shoes, paired with a maroon corduroy blazer completed the look.

"Hey," she said when she reached him.

"Right on time," he said to her. "So, where do you want to go first?"

"Well, you tell me. I've been to Honeydukes, Zonkos, and Gladrags," she explained.

"Alright, so those are out. Let's head down towards this end of the street," Benjy suggested.

The two of them walked to the far end of the town to visit the lesser knows shops. Hermione had been to most of these before, but there were still some new additions that surprised her. They ended their tour at the Shrieking Shack. It had been a really long time since she had been down this way, maybe even during her third or fourth year.

"And this is called the Shrieking Shack," Benjy said in a slightly sinister voice.

"Sounds… spooky," Hermione replied.

"Oh, it is. It's haunted. And not like how Hogwarts is with all the friendly ghosts willing to help you find your classes. Well, except for Peeves- and the Bloody Baron- but besides those two, most of the ghosts are nice. Not these ones. They moan and yell and… well shriek. I can hear then at night sometimes, they're that loud." Benjy told her.

Hermione's forehead wrinkled in concern. Really? It was that bad for him? Hermione of course had heard stories about this place well before she had ever met Professor Lupin, and then she had been there for one of his transformations- the night Peter Pettigrew escaped to rejoin Lord Voldemort. But it had only been for a few moments, and then Sirius had chased him off into the forest. But hearing an outsiders description of what happens in there made Hermione happier that she decided to give him the Wolfsbane potion.

"That sounds sad," was all Hermione said.

"Sad?" Benjy asked.

"Well, if it's as bad as it sounds then something horrible and painful must have happened here. I feel bad for the person…or people who uh, experienced it," she said ass truthfully and cryptically as she could.

Hermione shivered. Between the thoughts of what her friend goes through during his transformations and the dampness in the air, a cold settled into her bones.

"Are you cold?" Benjy asked. Hermione nodded. Benjy lifted his arm and settled it around her shoulders. For warmth- that was it, right?

"Thanks," Hermione whispered, and tentatively put her arm around his back.

"No problem. How about we go down to the Three Broomsticks and get a butterbeer before you have to get back up to the castle?" he suggested.

They walked that way back into the more populated area of the town. When they reached the Three Broomsticks Benjy opened the door for her, and motioned for her to enter first. When they were both inside, it was packed. It seemed like everyone had the idea to grab a warm butterbeer before heading back up to the school.

"Do you see anywhere to sit?" Hermione asked. Benjy was a head taller than her, and it was easier for him to see any vacant tables from his vantage point.

"No. Why don't I go and order some drinks and you can walk around and see if you can find a place?" Benjy offered.

"Sure," Hermione agreed. She headed towards the back of the building, knowing that here were more tables that couldn't be seen from the door.

"Hermione!" someone shouted her name. Hermione looked around and saw all of her friends squeezed into a large table. Mary, Dorcas, Marlene, Lily, James, Remus, and Peter were all there. Then her shoulder dropped. So was Sirius. And his…date.

"Hey guys," she greeted everyone.

"Hey, so how was your date?" Mary said, cutting right to the point.

"It's great. Benjy is getting us some drinks now. I'm trying to find us a table," she explained. Benjy walked over at that moment, holding two mugs of butterbeer.

"Any luck?" he asked her.

"Nope," Hermione answered. "These are my friends, by the way."

"Nice to meet you all," Benjy said. The girls introduced themselves with a wave. James, Remus and Peter all stood to shake his hand. Sirius just nodded his head in acknowledgement.

"You guys are welcome to join us, if you want," Lily offered.

Benjy looked at Hermione. "What do you think?" he asked.

"It already a pretty tight squeeze," Sirius commented from the other end of the table. His arm was slung around a blond haired girl that Hermione had seen in the halls a few times. She seemed nice enough, but wasn't the sharpest crayon in the box, from what she heard. However, what she lacked in brain she clearly made up for in bust size.

"Oh Sirius," the blonde squeaked and batted him with the back of her hand. "Of course we can make room."

Hermione shot him a glare, and then looked back at Benjy.

"I don't know if we will find anywhere else." Hermione bit her lip. "Do you mind?" she asked.

"Not at all," he replied. They set their mugs down on the table and scrounged up a couple of chairs to bring over to the table.

"So, where did you guys go?" Marlene asked.

"Everywhere, I think," Hermione said. The girls were all looking at Hermione and Benjy eagerly, waiting to hear about their afternoon and how it all went.

"So Brian, what do you do?" Sirius asked abruptly, and in an obvious attempt to sound as masculine as possible.

"It's Benjy," Hermione said stiffly.

"Oh, my mistake," Sirius replied with a shrug of his shoulders, he eyes never leaving Benjy.

"I work at my father's shop. He owns the apothecary down the lane. When I graduated I came on to help him out. My parents had me when they were a bit older, so my dad needs all the help he can get in here," Benjy explained.

"Interesting- so you've already graduated? Seems like there a bit of an age difference between you two," Sirius then said, pointing his finger alternately between Hermione and Benjy.

"Not really, just a few years. My mum and dad were almost ten years apart," he told the table.

"Oh, so you like them young?" Sirius said.

"Sirius!" Hermione exclaimed.

"I usually base my dating preferences on how smart and kind a woman is," Benjy said. He then leaned back in his chair and casually wrapped an arm around the back of Hermione's chair. His words clearly were meant as a challenge- _How are you going to twist that around without looking like an ass_ \- that kind of thing. However, his body language was saying something else- _I'm very comfortable and I'm not going anywhere._

Hermione looked around at their girls, her eyes pleading with them to help her change the subject to almost anything else. Mary was the one who jumped in first.

"Who…likes…pie?" She said awkwardly. She shot Hermione a look the clearly said- _I tried_.

"Oh, I love pie," Lily then said. "I think my favorite is blueberry."

"Really? I'm not a fan. I love apple," Mary then continued.

"Chocolate is my favorite," Remus said from down the table. Hermione gave him a grateful look. He was the only one of the boys to be helpful so far, and although she knew that the Marauders were an _All for one and one for all_ kind of group, she appreciated his help all the same.

"Well you like anything if it has chocolate," Dorcas said to him.

"It's true," James added. "He's got a stash under his bed that he thinks we all don't know about."

"Hey, is that why I'm always missing Chocolate Frogs?" Remus exclaimed.

"What? We replace them eventually," James defended with a laugh.

"For a while there I thought I had gone mental. I thought maybe I was eating them in my sleep- It's not funny James!" Remus yelled. James was doubled over with laughter at this point and was holding onto Peter for stability.

"You know, I think I remember you guys. Weren't you the ones who toilet papered the Great Hall on Halloween a few years ago?" Benjy asked the boys.

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot about that one!" James sputtered through his laughter, wiping a tear from his eye. "I thought Remus was crazy for telling us about Trick or Treating."

"What's Trick or Treating?" Marlene asked.

"It's a muggle tradition on Halloween," Remus explained. "When children go to houses and say 'Trick or Treat' and the homeowners give them candy. That's the treat. The tricks are that sometimes teenagers will egg houses, destroy jack-o-lanterns and occasionally, cover the house and trees and lawn with toilet paper."

"Muggles are brilliant," Peter added.

"When Sirius and James found out about that, there was no going back," Remus said with a devious smile.

Hermione leaned forward and put her head on her hand, staring right at Remus. "So it's true. You're not as innocent as you seem. What percentage of their pranks have you devised?" she asked him.

"Not too many this year- you've given them more ideas then anyone," he said cheekily. "But in previous years… 70 percent," Remus said with a smirk.

"This is what I mean; everyone thinks he's just a good little prefect. You know, he says 'fuck' more than Sirius and I combined," James shouted. People at neighboring tables gave him looks when he was shouting curse words in a public place.

"Interesting… there's a lot to learn about you isn't there… Professor Lupin," Hermione said, slowly leaning back in her chair.

"Professor?" Remus asked.

"It sounds right- doesn't it?" Hermione asked the others around the table. Every single one of them nodded their head. "Think about it," she added.

James nodded with a broad smile on his face. "Professor Fuckin' Lupin!"


	18. Chapter 18

**A/N:** So this had been three chapters in the last few days, which is was I wanted to get out to you guys. I've had all this worked out, but getting it typed and set up the way I wanted took a lot longer than I would have liked. By the way, I saw the high-five thing in a head cannon and I HAD to find a way to incorporate it into my story. I can't take credit for it! I also found the animagus thing on there too! And I've had it all typed up for a few weeks, because I was inspired, but then I couldn't find a good way to work it in. don't worry, I figured it out.

HAPPY NEW YEAR! To you all! Be safe and have fun!

Disclaimer- I don't have any rights to any of this material. I just like to experiment =]

Chapter 18

The group sat at the table in the Three Broomsticks for a little while longer, before they all had to head back up to the school. They pulled their jackets back on, Hermione waved good bye to Rosmerta, and headed out into the street of Hogsmeade.

"We'll save you a seat for dinner, alright?" Mary asked with slightly raised eyebrows.

"Sure," Hermione said.

"Bye Benjy, it was lovely to meet you!" Mary shouted. The rest of the girls all gave similar departures, and walked arm in arm back up the lane towards the school.

"They're quite the characters," Benjy said with a small chuckle.

"Yeah, they're something. I'm sorry about Sirius too. He can be a little… well he can be a real ass sometimes," Hermione said bluntly.

"I don't want to talk about him," Benjy said with a small shake of his head. He reached out and grabbed her hand. "I had a great time today."

"Me too."

"I'd like to see you again," he added.

"Me too."

"You're doing that thing where you barely answer again," Benjy laughed.

With her cheeks tinted pink, Hermione said, "I'd like that."

"Well, I know that you know how to sneak out of the school. Now, I'm not condoning it. However, if it ever happened that we were both in Hogsmeade at the same time; would you like to get dinner or something?" Benjy joked.

"Definitely," she said. He gently pulled on her hand, signaling for her to move closer. She took a couple steps forward. He looked in her eyes, before leaning down and kissing her softly on the cheek.

"Can I send you an owl?" He whispered in here ear. She nodded. "Good." And when he pulled back he said and gave her such a charming smile that it could rival even Gilderoy Lockhart.

Hermione smiled back and turned around to head back up to the castle. Briefly she turned around to look behind her, and Benjy was still there watching her walk away. However, when she turned back around she saw James, Remus, and Peter standing there watching her interaction with Benjy. When they realized that they had been spotted, they looked at each other, and then back to Hermione.

"Ooooohhh," they all cooed.

"Oh grow up," Hermione said as she pushed past them.

"He's so dreamy," James squeaked.

"I wish he were my boyfriend," Remus said with fluttering eyelashes.

Peter pretended to swoon.

"Where's the fourth member of your boys club?" Hermione asked to change the subject.

"He walked Miranda up to the castle. Apparently she was running late. I think I heard something about plucking eyebrows or something, and she needed make a quick exit," James said with a roll of his eyes.

Hermione looked at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if to ask him if he was for real.

"What?" He said with raised hands. "I couldn't make this stuff up. I didn't even know that there was some kind of need to rid ones person of eyebrow hair," he huffed.

"Huh. You know what? I didn't either," Hermione said to them.

No one had a chance to reply though, because as soon as she said that the sky seemed to remember that they were waging a war on the poor peasants of the Earth and had decided to punish them with rain. They all started running up toward the school. They weren't that far, but in the rain everything seems so much further away. Heads down, Hermione and the boys raced passed the gates to the school and up into the Entrance Hall.

Hermione was relieved- she and Benjy hadn't had time to eat lunch, what with the entire day sigh seeing they did. However, they did snack on the large bag of candy that Hermione had purchased at Honeydukes with the girls. While that was enough to satisfy her at the time, she was ready for some real food. Especially tonight, because it was the Halloween Feast! Everyone had been looking forward to it all day. Even Benjy acknowledged his envy at not being enrolled for the feast alone.

When they reached the Entrance Hall they all started shaking off the rain a bit, James messing up his hair to remove the excess water, and Hermione actually needing to wring out her locks. Remus came up behind her and helped with the hair in the back of her head. Peter saw this and decided that they needed another set of hands. Before she knew what happened she had three quarters of the Marauders helping her to remove the excess water from her strands. They were all laughing by the end.

"Alright, I think I'm good. I actually think you guys got too much water out of me. I'm going to need to drink an entire pitcher of water to replenish what you guys removed," she joked.

When James moved from in front of her so they could make their way into the Great Hall, Hermione stopped dead. Sirius was standing with Miranda pressed up against the wall, and they were clearly engrossed in a competition to see whose tongue could reach down the others throat further.

Hermione was frozen in shock. Was this really happening? She knew that they had been on kind of weird terms the last few weeks. She knew that he was going to Hogsmeade with Miranda, and she had actually had a date with someone else. But there is no way that either of them could ignore the…moments between them. The victory party- If she didn't know any better, she might have thought they were seconds away from a kiss.

Then he is rude to Benjy. How had she not taken a second to think about that? He was sitting there and just grilled Benjy on anything he could think of, and then had rude responses to everything that Benjy explained.

And now she was walking into this. Did he care that this was a very public place? Did he care that she was going to be walking in at any moment? Or did he not even give this any consideration and just did what his head told him to do- not the one on top of his body.

"Really Padfoot? Get a room," James hollered at his friends back.

Sirius turned and gave James a smirk and a wink, before his eyes landed on Hermione. She was still frozen to the spot, not sure that to say or what to do. His face seemed to fall when he noticed that she was standing there too, but it didn't last long before he had that cocky smirk on there again. He turned back to look at Miranda.

"The guys are here, so I've gotta go." He told her.

"Yeah, the girls are probably waiting for me too," she squeaked.

 _Why doesn't her voice always squeak?_ Hermione though irritably.

They kissed one more time and that was when Hermione felt a hand on her back, urging her to move forward. When she turned to look at who was touching her, she saw Peter there, with an understanding look on his face. She left her shoulders fall, and he nodded at her to follow his directions and just keep moving.

The three boys followed Hermione into the Great Hall, Sirius running to catch up. When they reached the spot where the girls were sitting, Peter gently pulled her with him, and they found a spot on the on the bench as far away from where James, Sirius, and Remus were sitting.

"He can be such an ass-hat," Peter said.

While Hermione was clearly upset about the situation, she couldn't help but snort with laughter at this word.

"Ass-hat?" she asked.

"Yeah, James taught it to me," he said with a shrug.

She and Peter had a nice time at dinner, even though Hermione was quite distracted. Peter tried to keep her mind busy and on topic of homework, family, and hobbies. However, no matter how hard she tired she couldn't shake off the thoughts running around in her head.

"So Hermione, how did the rest of your date go?" Lily asked.

"It was fine," Hermione said a little stiffer than she usually would have. And quieter, the last thing she wanted was for Sirius to overhear them. She glanced down the table to see him laughing with James. She looked back at the girls.

"Just fine? Does he want to go out again?" Mary pried.

"Did he make a move?" Marlene asked.

"Did he kiss you?" Dorcas asked.

"I bet he didn't," Sirius yelled from the other end of the table.

Silence filled the air around their portion of the table. Peter, of course knew what was happening, but it also seemed like the rest of the girls at the table had picked up on something during their time in the Three Broomsticks. Remus, too- had picked up on their vibes. James seemed like the only one who was completely out of the loop.

Hermione let out a sigh. "Excuse me?" she said in an uncommonly calm tone for the situation.

"I bet he didn't make a move. He seems like a bit of a ponce. You could do better." He said this through a mouth full of chicken.

"Says the man who's dating an airheaded bimbo?" She retorted.

"Hey, woah- that was unnecessary!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Unnecessary? It was unnecessary for you to grill Benjy on his career and our slight age difference- and in front of everyone!" Hermione yelled back.

"Well it's important to be careful getting to know someone these days. How do we know he's not a Death Eater?" Sirius responded hotly.

"A Death Eater? You've got to be kidding me! He's not a Death Eater, he's just a nice guy," she yelled back.

"I needed to make sure he was good enough for you, and clearly he isn't." Sirius yelled.

"Well you know the answer is then, don't you? Pluck up the courage and ask me before somebody else does," she said. She could hear everyone around them suck in their breath.

"You've completely missed the point," Sirius stammered.

"Then enlighten me- please," Hermione said with her arms crossed.

"Is he really going to be happy working for an apothecary for the rest of his life?" Sirius blurted out.

Hermione let out a frustrated sound. "When his father dies, the business passes down to him. He will eventually own his own business. What's the issue in that? Do you have something against small businesses?" Hermione questioned.

"I..uh… Well he didn't say that," Sirius defended.

"Guys, you might want to take this into the hall," James urged them.

Hermione looked at James. "Stay out of this." She yelled and then looked back at Sirius. "It was a first date. There is no need to lay out our hopes, dreams, and children's names on a first date, for Merlin's sake! It was completely inappropriate and I think you owe Benjy and me an apology," She said.

"I will not," Sirius said stubbornly. "I was just looking out for you and now you're making a scene."

Hermione's eyes narrowed and her face went from looking incredulous to smug. "You want a scene? I'll give you a scene." She said. Hermione stood up and then climbed onto the table. A lot of people had become aware of their shouting match and were looking on with interest. Smirking to herself, she lifted her hands to her mouth she shouted into the crowded hall. " _Sirius Black likes to French braid!"_

Sirius gasped. "You promised!"

Hermione just gave him a cold look before marching out of the Great Hall.

She got outside the doorway and just leaned against the wall. The cool stone felt good against her hot skin. Taking deep breaths, she felt her anger start to fade. Usually after her anger subsides, sadness sets in. She really didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, so she pushed herself off of the wall and started walking. She didn't know where, but she just started walking. She walked up the stairs; up and up and up. She didn't focus on where her feet were leading her, but she just kept walking. Eventually she stopped and looked around. She was in one of the towers, judging by the view from the windows. Walking again, but at a slower pace, Hermione studied her surroundings, and then chuckled to herself. She was in the North Tower- and if she wasn't mistaken she was just one corridor over from where her Divination lessons had been in her third year.

She turned a corner, and looked up. There was the circular trap door that concealed the entrance to the classroom. Hermione took out her wand and muttered a spell, and the opening to the trapdoor sprang to life, and the staircase lowered. Hermione walked forward, and started to climb.

When she reached the classroom, Hermione could see that it was very similar looking to when she had it. There were a different tea cups on the shelves, but after 20 years of students breaking them she wasn't really surprised. There wasn't a fire crackling in the fireplace like usual, but the room still smelled like the perfumes that filled the small space.

Hermione sat down in one of the chintz armchairs at the table that Harry, Ron, and her shared when they took the class together.

She had been feeling a little melancholy lately. Not enough to really impact her daily life, but enough for her to notice. The first Quidditch game of the year had her thinking about Harry a lot. It didn't help that there was someone flying around in the skies that looked like his twin. She missed him so much. He was her best friend for the last 7 years of her life. He was there for her when others weren't. All the highs and lows of her life in the magical community were shared with him. He was also raised by muggles, which also gave them another thing to bond over.

Then there was the Hogsmeade weekend. It was Hogwarts first weekend of the year, but her first weekend in this decade. The first time she had visited the village was with Ron. They had gone together because Harry's aunt and uncle wouldn't sign his permission form. They had explored Hogsmeade and experienced it together. While going with Benjy had been fun, it had just reminded of all the things they her and Ron had seen on their first trip.

Hermione pulled her knees up to her chest and sunk down into the chair a little farther. This was ridiculous, but she felt very close to Harry and Ron in this room- sitting at their table. She leaned her head back and closed her eyes, just breathing in the scent of the perfumed air.

She didn't know when she had fallen asleep; she didn't know how long she'd been asleep for- Hell, she didn't even know where she was when she awoke. It took her a moment to remember her argument with Sirius, her walk throughout the castle, and then ending up in the Divination classroom. She stood up and pulled back the heavy curtains to look outside. It was dark, and a half full moon stood out against the midnight black sky.

 _Crap_ , Hermione thought. She was probably out of bed late, and she had a long walk ahead of her to reach the Gryffindor common room. Opening the trap door, Hermione was contemplating whether a disillusionment charm was necessary. She reached the bottom, and then sent the stairs floating back up into the classroom. She started walking away from the North Tower, but was stopped when she heard a noise.

Was that…that couldn't be snoring, could it? Hermione had gotten used to the noises that could be heard throughout the school, and knew where they came from- the moving stairs, the groaning from the suits of armor, and the sounds of Peeves zipping through the school. This noise was different. She'd never heard someone snoring in the corridors. And do ghosts even sleep? A question she would have to ask Nearly Headless Nick.

"Hello," she whispered. She turned around, thinking it came from somewhere a tapestry close to the end of the hall. As she crept closer, the sound got louder.

"Hello," she said again in a louder voice. Nothing answered, but the sound kept getting louder the closer she got. She kept creeping down the hall, her eyes peeled for something to explain what she was hearing.

"Ugh…" she groaned when she tripped over something. But the something groaned back. Her heart starting to beat wildly in her chest, Hermione leapt up to her feet and had her wand out before she could even locate what she had tripped over.

"Bloody hell," a voice said. Hermione spun in time to see Sirius appear in front of her and he was rubbing a spot on his shin where she had tripped.

"What are you doing here?" She hissed.

"What are you doing here? Do you know what time it is? You've had the girls worried for hours when you never came back. Luckily we made a map that shows where everyone is in the castle so we knew you were still in the castle," Sirius said furiously. He stood up and looked right into her eyes.

"I came up here to get some space from you," Hermione retorted- not looking away from those stormy grey orbs.

"Well how much more do you need? I've got the invisibility cloak, so I can wait longer if you want." He answered matter-of-factly.

"What are you even doing here?" she asked him while crossing her arms in front of her chest protectively.

"I came to look for you," he said. At this he did look away and he shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Really- even after that display of affection we just had at the feast?" Hermione prodded.

"Erm, well… yeah. It's that what we do? We get along great, I do something stupid, we yell at each other and then we make up," he mumbled.

"I think you forgot about the part where you apologize for being a prat," Hermione said.

"Well… that happens too," he said looking back into her eyes. "Sorry," he said.

"This can't keep happening," she said to him seriously.

"I know," he replied. He looked down and kicked his foot against the stone beneath them.

"Next time, I don't know if I'll be so apt to forgive you," she said to him. He didn't say anything, but she knew that he was listening. "Look, you don't like Benjy. I get it. But you can't be rude. If you don't have anything nice to say then just don't say anything at all." Again, he didn't say anything but she knew that he heard her. Hermione took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

"Alright, let's go," she said. He looked into her eyes, like trying to gage how much anger was left inside. He obviously didn't find much, because he nodded and covered them both with the invisibility cloak.

The trip back to Gryffindor tower was longer than Hermione would have liked. It was a good thing that they had the cloak, because it seemed like all the teachers suspected that there would be more students out of bed then usual tonight. She swore she ran into the entire teaching staff on their trip back. Actually, that was the only good thing about the trip. They needed to be as quite as possible and because of that, it meant that there was no more opportunity for talking.

When they eventually made it back to the common room (after being lectured by the Fat Lady) Sirius turned to look at her.

"You'll want to go right up, the girls have been right worried about you," he told her.

"Oh- thanks," she replied and started walking towards the stairs, before stopping again and looking back at him.

"You know, I think Miranda's nice," she said slowly.

"You like her?" he asked with confusion and disappointment.

"No, I didn't say that," Hermione said with a hint of a smirk. "I just said I thought she was nice."

Understanding flooded his face, and he smiled a goofy smile. "Ahh… loud and clear," was all he said.

When Hermione reached the dormitory the girls pounced on her immediately.

"Where were you?"

"We were so worried!"

"You are grounded, missy!"

"Sorry guys," Hermione mumbled. "I just needed some space and I lost track of time."

"I have half a mind to give you detention for scaring us so badly, but I also want to force feed you chocolate for what happened during the feast," Lily ranted.

"I know, it won't happen again- I talked with Sirius and hopefully everything's fine," she said.

"Oooh," Mary cooed and she brought her hand up to her face and used it as a fan. "You know, the heat was just radiating off you guys when you were fighting. Imagine what other uses that heat could be used for?"

The other girls in the dorm giggled while Hermione's cheeks tinged.

"It's not… we're not… don't think…" she stuttered.

"We know," Dorcas said. "As weird as your situation is, we understand it."

"Good, because I still don't," Hermione joked.

The next morning at breakfast was… difficult for Sirius. Mary hadn't said anything during the evening before because of the situation- the argument, Hermione went mission, Sirius went to look for her, everyone was worried- get the picture? So when everything was resolved, the flood gates opened.

Mary sat down next to Sirius and instantly a flood came out of her mouth.

"How did you learn? Can you teach me? How to you get it so even? Can you-," Mary said.

"Why'd you have to tell?" Sirius whined to Hermione. She just gave him a look that said quite clearly- _You deserved it._ He hung his head in acknowledgement, and then took a deep breath.

"It's all about how you hold your fingers…" he started to explain.

James and Remus, who were sitting on the other side of the table from them, were shaking with silent laughter.

A few days later, two days before the full moon, found the group of sixth year Gryffindors in Charms class. Remus was looking pale as usual, but he seemed to have a bit more energy than he usually did. Hermione wondered if this was another benefit of the Wolfsbane potion.

"Alright, I've got an important question to ask," Sirius announced before class started.

Remus sighed. "What is it this time?"

Sirius cleared his throat. "Cats… or dogs?" he said dramatically.

There was a chuckle of laughter from the girls (minus Hermione), but the boys all kept straight faces.

"You're serious?" Marlene asked with note of confusion in her voice.

"I'm always Sirius," Sirius responded with a cheesy grin. "But as for whether the question is important to me or not, it's of the utmost importance." He turned looked around at his fellow Marauders and they all answered a chorus of 'dog' before he could even ask them.

"Okay, well I guess I'd say that I'm a dog person," Marlene answered. Sirius lifted his hand to high-five her and Marlene met her palm with his in a loud slapping sound. Then his attention turned towards Mary.

"I'm more of a cat person," she admitted. Sirius looked down at her with a disapproving glance. He turned to look at Dorcas.

"Cats," she said sheepishly. Sirius let out a sigh of frustration before turning towards Hermione.

"I don't have a preference. Dogs are great, but I used to have a cat," she tried to answer diplomatically. Sirius looked at her as if trying to figure out if her answer was a cop out or if that truly was how she felt. He nodded his head when he made his decision to believe her. That only left Lily as the last person to answer. His gaze landed on her.

"Dogs," Lily answered. Sirius whooped and made to give Lily a high five, but her hand remained where it was.

"Uhh… Evans?" he asked. He looked at her, then his outstretched arm, and then back to her. He was clearly hinting at his desire for her to slap her hand against his hand in a satisfactory fashion.

"I'm not really a high-fiver," she said with a shrug.

Sirius seemed to take great offense to this. "What? Why not?" He demanded- his hand still in the air.

"It's a bit unnecessary. Plus, it hurts," she admitted.

"It's a pleasurable kind of pain," he said with a wink. Remus snorted with amusement at this comment, and James's eyes went wide- like he couldn't believe that Sirius was actually saying this to Lily Evans.

"I think I'll pass," Lily said simply.

"That will not stand. I demand retribution!" Sirius announced, putting his hand right in front of Lily's face. She batted the hand away.

"Just high-five one of the other boys. I'm sure they would be happy to give you 'retribution'" she mocked.

Sirius's eyes flashed in annoyance, but he plastered a fake smile on his face. "Okay Evans, I'll let it go this time. But I always- and I mean always- get what I want," he said with an oily tone to his voice. Lily looked a little wary, but didn't back down.

Charms class passed with incident and the conversation was forgotten. Later in the afternoon, they were sitting in Transfiguration. Class had just started and Sirius had chosen to sit next to Lily in this class. It was a weird change, considering he always sat next to James, and Lily made it her life's mission to be as far away from James Potter as possible. But she didn't say anything when he made to sit down next to her.

"Good afternoon class. Today we will be continuing our discussion on human transfiguration. Now, we've practiced the spells needed to change one's features. However, we've barely touched the surface. Can anyone else tell me what other kinds of human transfiguration there are?" McGonagall asked. A couple of hands shot into the air.

While all the hands went into the air, Sirius was paying close attention to Lily.

"Aubrey," she called and pointed to a handsome boy with blonde hair and green eyes from Hufflepuff.

"Well, there's animagi," he answered.

"Correct, and five points to Hufflepuff. Can anyone tell me something about animagi?" she then asked.

More hands went up in the air. Sirius once again had his attentions on Lily. This time McGonagall called on Mary.

"They can transform into an animal at will," she said.

"Correct, and five points to Gryffindor," McGonagall announced.

"Professor, what about werewolves?" a girl from Hufflepuff asked.

"Can anyone answer that one? Why are the differences between animagi and werewolves?" McGonagall asked.

To everyone's surprise, Sirius raised his hand. McGonagall's eyebrows rose in suspicion, but didn't want to pass up an opportunity for him to participate. While he and James were both naturals at transfiguration, it wasn't often that they chose to be active during their lessons.

"Mr. Black," McGonagall called.

"Animagi are sexier," Sirius answered.

There was a round of laughter from the class after this statement, and Sirius looked at Remus like he was quite pleased with himself, before making a dramatic gesture to McGonagall and wagging his eyebrows up and down in her directions, and then ending with a wink.

"Well werewolves have better hair," Remus countered.

"Animagi are smarter," Sirius then mocked.

"Werewolves are much taller," Remus said with a smile and a tilt of the head.

Sirius gasped at this. "Hey, it's not a big height difference," he said.

"Alright, alright- thank you Mr. Lupin and Mr. Black. Can anyone tell us any differences that have actually been proven between animagi and werewolves?" Professor McGonagall asked in an attempt to regain focus.

Lily raised her hand this time.

"Miss. Evans?" McGonagall called on her.

However, before Lily could answer the teachers question, there was a loud whooping sound from next to her and Sirius leaned closer to her and high-fived her raised hand before she could lower it.

"Satisfaction!" Sirius yelled. Everyone in the classroom laughed at this.

"Really?" Lily questioned him. "Was that really necessary?"

"Ohh…Lily, Lily, Lily! You have no idea what you've started!" Sirius taunted her.

Lily just shook her head and muttered 'nutter'.

"You probably should have just gone along with the original high-five," Hermione whispered to her.

Throughout the rest of the class, Sirius high-fived Lily's hand three more times and earned himself a detention for the following evening. Every time he succeeded in high-fiving Lily he would look at his friends and laugh with them. Hermione noticed that every time that Lily caught sight of James laughing at the situation, Lily's face would frown in… was it disappointment? However, just as quickly as it was there it was replaced with annoyance and anger.

After their class ended, Lily packed up quickly and practically ran out of the room- her face flushed either with embarrassment or anger. Hermione wanted to catch up with her and see if she was alright, but she had something she needed to do first. Hermione walked over to where the Marauders had gathers, held her hands to make sure everyone had left the room, and then laid into them.

"Sirius, you need to be careful! You got lucky that McGonagall gave you detention for tomorrow night, and not the night of the full moon!" Hermione whispered.

All four of the boys froze at this- enough to make Hermione rethink what she had just said. It was the full moon the day after tomorrow, right? Yes, and they all know that she knows about Remus's… furry little problem, right? Yes. So, what's got their knickers in a bunch?

"Why would that affect me? I'm not the one with the… condition," Sirius said calmly, almost too calmly. It took Hermione a moment to realize what they were thinking.

 _Piss!_ Hermione thought. They didn't know that she knew about them being animagi. _Piss, piss, piss!_ Thinking quickly, Hermione came up with something.

"Uh, yeah- I know. But didn't you guys hang out together and wait for it to pass, and then visit him in the morning?" Hermione came up with. "I thought that was what happened last month. If you're in detention you can't be with him right before."

The boys all let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, that's true." Sirius admitted, but with a hint of uneasiness lingering in his eyes. Like he didn't believe that was what she was truly meant, but was seeing where she was going with this.

"I know it doesn't have anything to do with me, but I just hate the idea that Remus is all alone all night and in pain. If it helps to have all of you guys around before he... before it happens then you should make damn sure that you're there. You can annoy Lily any other time," Hermione said.

"Now, I need to speak with James. You three, hit the bricks," Hermione said. She nodded her head in the direction of the door with an expression on her face that clearly said _don't argue with me._ When Sirius, Remus, and Peter had left the room, Hermione rounded on James.

"What are you doing?" She yelled at him. Then, for good measure, she flicked him in the nose.

"Ow, what was that for?" James moaned.

"Do you or do you not want to date Lily Evans?" Hermione said hotly.

"Yes," James admitted.

"Then why on Earth would you laugh when Sirius is being mean to her?" Hermione sighed and her shoulders sunk. "Do you honestly think that's the kind of guy she wants to be with?"

James had the good sense to look ashamed here.

"Look, you remember when you helped Ella our with those Slytherin ass-hats?" Hermione asked.

James laughed. "Ass-hats?"

"Not the time," Hermione said seriously.

James's expression changed back to ashamed. "Yeah," he answered.

"She was so proud of you when you did that. She even called you James. Why would you ruin that?" she asked him.

"I didn't… I mean I wasn't…" James stammered.

"I know you didn't mean to, but that's the problem! You need to be more aware of how your actions are reflected on by others. I'm rooting for you two to be together, but there's only so much I can do to help. You've got to earn it." Hermione told him. With that, she spun on her heel and headed out the door.

Hermione found Lily in the dormitory when she got back.

"Hey, I hope Sirius didn't bother you too much," she said.

"He's so annoying," Lily complained.

"Yeah, he is." Hermione agreed.

"I mean, not only was it super disruptive, but it was really embarrassing," Lily fumed. "He's always being mean to others. He and Potter haven't been so bad this year, they've actually been alright. The last few weeks have been different, and Sirius has been more like he was last year," she complained.

"Did you just say something almost neutral about James Potter," Hermione teased.

"I said that he wasn't doing anything mean, annoying, or obnoxious. That's in no way mean to be a compliment," Lily snapped.

"My mistake," Hermione said with hand raised in surrender.

"I'm sorry, it's not your fault," Lily huffed.

"Hey, want to get dinner down in the kitchen tonight? Spend some quality girl time," Hermione suggested.

Lily let out a relieved sigh. "I would _love_ that!"


	19. Chapter 19

**A/N:** So this chapter is a bit shorter than I usually make it, but I've been having a hard time finding motivation to write. I think it's because it's taking me a long time to figure out how to fit everything in where I want it. I know what I want to happen in the story, it's just not lining up the way I would like it too.

Chapter 19

Classes seemed to last forever that week and by the time Friday had rolled around it had seemed like everyone had checked out. The school seemed to be feeling the cold weather blues- everyone that was but Sirius. Nothing could discourage Sirius from annoying every last ounce of patience out of Lily. He continued to high-five her every time she raised her hand during a lesson. Lily had worked hard at not letting this occur. When Sirius was sitting close to her during a lesson she simply wouldn't raise her hand at all.

During Herbology that afternoon, Hermione was working at the same station as Sirius, James, and Marlene. Sirius had just high fived Lily for the second time that class. When Professor Sprout let them go to work on their Fanged Geranium Hermione turned to Sirius to question him.

"Sirius, when are you going to leave Lily alone?"

"What? It's funny," Sirius insisted.

"I don't think Lily thinks so," Hermione replied.

"Well then she should have just high-fived me when I asked," he said.

"You can't just punish someone for not doing what you want them to do," Hermione said. When Sirius didn't answer, Hermione gave a wide eyed look to James, and then nodded her head discreetly in Sirius's direction. James noticed the action, but immediately looked down at his dragon-hide cover hands were doing.

Sighing, Hermione just shook her head to herself, hoping that this would resolve itself soon.

However, Sirius was feeling particularly… mischievous that day. This was especially complicated during their potions class later that day.

Sirius sat two tables behind Lily and Marlene, the same row as Hermione and Snape, and he would still jump up and run over to her. Lily looked like she was running out of patience and would snap at any moment. Because she was sitting so far in front of him, it was hard for her to see where he was. Thankfully James wasn't laughing with Sirius about it, but he wasn't exactly telling him to shove off, either. However, during this class it wasn't Lily that Hermione was worried about. It was Snape.

Every time Sirius leapt up from his seat, Snape would flinch. Hermione guessed it was an instinct to protect Lily, but then he would remember that they were no longer on speaking terms.

Hermione wondered what was running through Snape's head during these moments. It was obvious that he cared greatly for Lily. Maybe even more so now that he had experienced life without her. Isn't that always how it goes? You never realize how important someone or something is to you until you've had to experience something without it. Hermione didn't want to butt in where she didn't belong, but it was sad to watch him during these times.

"Everything all right?" Hermione asked when Slughorn dismissed them from the lecture and everyone got started on their potions.

"Fine," he said curtly. He had turned away from her to start lighting a flame under their cauldron.

"Really? Because you know you're face says otherwise," Hermione told him.

"Just because you're a know-it-all in everything else doesn't mean that you know everything about me," he spat. Hermione waited a moment before she said anything. She didn't want him to know how badly what he said had hurt her. That was the same thing that he had called her when he was her professor and the memory of that wasn't pleasant. At the time it had bothered her, but now that she had started become friends with him it stung even worse.

"I'm going to ignore that, because I can tell that you're upset. I'm going to give you a moment to choose something else to say, and we can forget what just happened." Hermione told him.

"Don't do me any favors," Snape said sarcastically with a roll of his eyes.

"Really? Alright, I was trying to be nice because I know what happened last year. I was going to be supportive and help you through it, but now I'm annoyed- so here it is." Her voice had risen slightly and a few people around them were now looking on at their argument. "You said something stupid last year and it ruined your friendship with Lily. You're feeling guilty and you've tried to apologize but she won't accept it. You're angry about the situation you are now in and you're taking it out on me. However, you have just said more stupid things. Thus, the cycle repeats itself." Hermione told him straight. "Why don't we just skip all the song and dance and you just let me try to help you."

Snape whirled around to look at her. "I don't need help from a…"

"Excuse me? A what- a mudblood?" Hermione snapped- her hand instantly moving to cover her scar. "Isn't that what you said the last time you lost a friend? Clearly you don't learn from your mistakes."

Snape actually had the decency to look ashamed. However, he didn't try to defend himself or retract anything he had said to her.

Hermione picked up her bag off the floor and quickly stuffed everything back inside. "Professor, I don't feel very well. I think I need to go to the hospital wing," she lied.

"Of course, my dear, are you alright to walk there on your own?" Slughorn asked.

"I'm fine," Hermione answered as she stood up. She looked at the Gryffindor side of the room, and then immediately regretted it. Sirius was standing up, looking murderous. James and Remus both had hands on his shoulders, keeping his stationed where he was. Hermione gave a little shake of her head as she walked by.

How dare he talk to her like that? She was only trying to help. They were friends- well they were on their way to being friends. It was completely unnecessary for that reaction. Was something else going on with him that she didn't know about?

Hermione sighed. Maybe she shouldn't have yelled at him like she did. Thinking back- now was probably the time where Snape was getting a lot of pressure on him from members of his house to join Voldemort and his followers. She would give him some space, and then try to talk to him.

She climbed up to the main part of the castle and looked at the time. Dinner was in about an hour, so she walked up to the library to get some work done before meeting everyone back in the Great Hall.

This was exactly what she needed- time alone. She loved her friends, but there were some things that she needed to figure out. She sat down in a corner of the library and pulled out some parchment. First, she listed all of the Horcruxes and the places where they could possibly be.

 _Horcruxes_

 _Ravenclaw's Diadem-The Room of Requirement_

 _Hufflepuff's cup- Lestrange Vault?_

 _Slytherin's Locket- In the cave_

 _Riddles Diary- with the Malfoys? Somewhere in Malfoy Mannor?_

 _Gaunt Ring- Gaunt shack in Little Hangleton_

 _Not made yet_

 _Nagini_

 _Harry_

 _Alright,_ Hermione said to herself. She had the Diadem, and if her list was correct, she only needed to find four more. However, they are the hardest ones to reach. She would need to find out where the diary and the cup definitely were. Voldemort could have had them hidden in other places, and then moved given them to the Malfoys and Lestrange's when they had proven their loyalty. The locket was another hard one. Hermione didn't go with Dumbledore to retrieve it, so that one seemed like another impossible task. The ring was the most achievable one. It wouldn't be too hard to figure out which shake was the one that the Gaunts had inhabited.

Sighing at her list, she pushed that piece of parchment out of the way and pulled out another one. This was going to be a list of things that she wanted to try to prevent.

 _Preventable?_

 _Deaths- Lily and James Potter, Regulus Black, McKinnon family, Benjy Fenwick, Dorcas Meadows, Gideon and Fabian Prewett, Caradoc Dearborn, Bones family_

 _Severus Snape joining the Death Eaters_

 _Peter Pettigrew joining the Death Eaters_

 _Frank and Alice's torture_

This list probably wasn't complete, but it was a start. She also needed to set up a meeting with Dumbledore. She had been thinking about this for a while and couldn't come up with any other way around it. When she graduated she wanted to join the Order. That was a given, but she had information that might be helpful to the group before then. She was also starting to think that she might need some help when it came to collecting the rest of the Horcruxes.

By the time she had finished making her lists, the class period was over. Hermione packed up her stuff, putting her lists of parchment in her beaded bag, and walked down to the Great Hall. When she reached the Gryffindor table, she saw Marlene, Dorcas, and Mary were the only ones of their group of friends who were sitting there.

"Where's everyone else?" Hermione asked when she sat down.

The girls all looked around at each other, before looking uncomfortably at Hermione. Understanding that look, Hermione's voice hardened.

"Where. Are. They." She said.

"Well- Erm… Lily is having a visit with McGonagall," Marlene said with mock casualness.

"Why?" Hermione prodded.

"Because they're friends?" Mary lied. With a look from Hermione, Mary sighed and gave in. "The Marauders got into a fight with Snape and she tried to break it up," she admitted.

" _What?_ " Hermione exclaimed.

"Sirius was mad that Snape said those things to you… and I think Snape was kind of annoyed with Sirius over the Lily thing," Dorcas explained. "So Sirius said some things when they were in the classroom, but didn't do anything because Slughorn was right there. Snape attacked him when they got into the corridor."

"Snape started it?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, Snape attacked him when they got into the corridor and before you know it there were spells flying through the air and Lily was trying to stop it all," Marlene told her.

Hermione put her head down on the table groaned. "Is it just me, or are you girls so tired of all the macho man attitudes and the testosterone filled fighting?" A chorus of 'yes' followed her question.

About half way through dinner Lily returned to the Great Hall and sat down with the girls, looking extremely put off.

"What happened?" Hermione asked.

"Snape and Sirius got into a fight. I had to talk to Professor Slughorn so I didn't arrive until the end. I took points and sent Sirius up to the hospital wing," Lily explained.

"Is he alright?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, he will be. He's got some cuts and it looked like a broken rib. I swear those boys will never stop," Lily said. "I told McGonagall what happened and they will both get detention."

"What about James, Remus, and Peter?" Marlene questioned.

"They're fine. It looked like Sirius wanted to handle this on his own," Lily explained.

Hermione got up. "I'm going to check on him and make sure he's okay. Then I'm going to kill him," she threatened.

When Hermione got into the hospital wing she saw Sirius sitting on one of the beds, surrounded by his friends and looking sour. He had a black eye and a couple of cuts on his face and arms, and one of his hands was holding a spot on his torso, probably where his rib was broken.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

All she got in response was a grunt. The rest of the boys looked unhurt.

"Why did you do that?" she said to Sirius.

"He deserved it. I heard what he was saying to you," he grunted.

"So then you also heard me standing up for myself and not letting him get away with it?" She questioned.

"He needs to learn that he can't talk like that," James interrupted.

"Yeah, and I told him that. _I_ told him that- because it was between him and myself. And he wouldn't have been so annoyed if you-," she rounded on Sirius. "-hadn't been doing your stupid high-five thing," Hermione argued.

Sirius gasped. "It's not stupid!"

"You need to think your actions through before you keep doing this crap or you're going to end up losing people you care about, or doing something that can't be fixed with a simple apology," Hermione warned.

"But it's Snape. He's a dark arts loving fuck and he needs to be taught a lesson," Sirius spat.

"You don't think about other people. You got mad and you found a way to fix it. But did you ever think about how it affects your friends? Remus is a prefect! How does that make him look when his mates are starting fights all the time? And James, he's trying really hard this year to behave for Lily and that doesn't help him. And Peter probably doesn't want to get into fights either," Hermione argued.

"I didn't ask them to help. Actually, I told them not to," Sirius mocked.

"That's not the point. You think you're thinking about others when you do this, but you're just being selfish. And what would have happened if you had really got hurt? Would you care how worried and upset all of us would be?" She countered.

"You know, Hermione- you don't know him like we do. He's been awful for the last six years, and he needs to be put in his place," James insisted.

"That's not the point! It doesn't matter how much they deserve it. If you attack them, you're just stooping to their level- and you're better than that. And you took on Snape by yourself? I know I'm new here, but I've heard how good he is at dueling and you're lucky you're not hurt worse," Hermione told him.

Sirius's eyes darkened and his lips tightened. "Shut up. I can handle him," he insisted. "Plus, the coward attacked me when I couldn't see him. That's the kind of man he is," Sirius insisted.

"And what does this situation say about you?" Hermione asked.

Sirius gave her a cold glare. "Poppy should be coming back any time. I think you should leave," he told her.

Hermione threw her hands up in the air and started muttering to herself. "So stupid… I can't believe… What was he thinking…" as she picked up her stuff and stormed out of the second room of the day.

Absolutely fuming, Hermione left the room and went up to Gryffindor tower. She walked right in and went up to the girl's dormitory, already making up her mind to stay there for the rest of the night and have a Marauder free evening.

The next two days, Hermione tried to stay away from Sirius. He was sulky, and even the other Marauders were staying clear of him. Remus spent the first day either napping up in his dormitory, or relaxing on the couches in the common room and the next day in the hospital wing. The next evening was the full moon, and he needed all of his strength.

By dinner time on the full moon, it seemed like Sirius started to come around. Hermione wondered if it had anything to do with the fact that they were going to be roaming around the grounds tonight. The group went down to the Great Hall together. Dinner went great, and Hermione was very aware of their surroundings while they were in there. She didn't see Snape in there at the same time they were, and they were in luck because as far as she could tell, they would make it in and without any kind of confrontation.

They reached the corridor outside of the Great Hall, and for a moment they were distracted- Peeves was causing chaos, as usual. This time he was throwing dungbombs at first years. The group of sixth year Gryffindors made their way quickly away from the smell, and when she looked back she saw Sirius running to catch up with them.

Giving him a questioning look she asked, "Where were you?"

He just walked right by her without saying anything.

Hermione got a feeling down her spine, a bad feeling. She couldn't shake it, but she knew something bad was going to happen. She stared at the retreating back of Sirius Black, trying to put into words what she was feeling. She then shook her head, and followed her friends up to the common room.

James, Sirius, and Peter retreated to a small corner of the room, and the girls went to another. Hermione guess that it had something to do with the full moon that night, and they probably wanted to talk about all of the mischief they were going to get into. But she kept a close eye on them. Sirius had a dramatic change in attitude, and he was sitting on the couch with his feet resting on a coffee table and a smirk on his face.

They were all talking, and Hermione looked around to see if there was a spot that she could easily move to where she could listen to their conversation, because something just didn't feel right.

Then something clicked! She remembered that she had brought a pair of Fred and Georges Extendable Ears with her. Hermione slipped away from the girls and crouched down behind an arm chair. She dug into her beaded bag and summoned the ears from the depth. Slowly, she snaked one end closer to the group, careful not to make a sound or be seen. When she had it in place, she listened closely.

"- thinking we could try that clearing we found last time," James said.

"Sounds good!" Peter said.

"Sure mate- anything," Sirius said. His voice sounded like he had a secret kept behind it.

"Alright Padfoot, what's up? You have been mopey for the last two days, and now you can't stop grinning smirking. Who did you prank?" James asked.

"Snivellus," Sirius said with a note of glee.

"Brilliant! What did you do? Put itching powder in his underwear again? Wait, how could you prank him and not include me?" James replied.

"Sorry mate, but it was last minute. Just did it when we were coming out of dinner," Sirius told them.

"Well, don't keep us waiting!" Peter exclaimed. "What did you do?"

"Oh, let's just say I don't think he will be bothering us anymore after he takes a walk down by the Whomping Willow tonight," Sirius said proudly.

"What- tonight? It's the full moon," James said sounding panicked.

"Yeah, that's the point," Sirius stated.

Hermione's heart is racing at this point. How could she have forgotten about the trick that Sirius played on Snape- she knew he was royally pissed off about coming off bad in their fight, but she completely forgot about this.

"But he'll see Moony!" Peter exclaimed.

"Serves him right- he needs a good scare," Sirius spat.

"Yeah, but Remus doesn't deserve that," James defended. "He could kill him- or even worse he could turn him into a werewolf," he continued- his voice was on the edge of panic. James stood up quickly and started pacing back and forth. "Okay, I'll got get Snape. Peter, you need to go and get Pomfrey and Sirius, you need to go get McGonagall," James directed.

"I'm not doing anything," Sirius said stubbornly.

"Oh yes you are. How do you think Remus would feel when he finds out that not only did you told a Slytherin his secret, but it lead to someone getting hurt or killed," James accused.

Hermione didn't hear anything after that, except for the sounds of two pairs of shoes moving away from her and towards the portrait hole.

Hermione knew what happened- she knew that Snape would find out Remus's secret, and would forever hate and hold a grudge against everyone who belonged to the Marauders. She knew that James and Sirius wouldn't talk for a long time, and it was a dark period for the whole group.

She stood up and put the Extendable Ears back into the bag quickly, and then moved around to look back where three quarters of the Marauders had been sitting. The only one left was Sirius, whose face was ashy white and an expression of fear etched on his beautiful features.

"Is everything alright?" she asked. He looked at her slowly, and then shook his head. "What's wrong?"

"I did a bad thing," was all he said.

Sighing, Hermione sat down beside him and took his hand. She didn't say anything, but just held it. After a moment she felt him squeeze her hand, and he stood up.

"I need to find McGonagall," was all he said before he walked out the portrait.


	20. Chapter 20

**A/N:** So this one is definitely longer than the last one, and I've got about half of the next one done as well. I'm going to try and get that out in the next couple of days because I'm starting school up again on Tuesday and I think the updates will come slower at that point.

Chapter 20

Hermione didn't see the boys come back for the rest of the evening. She also didn't see them at breakfast the next day. Hermione and the girls went to their first class, Charms, and saw Sirius sitting alone at the table where the Marauders usually sat. He had his head down on the table and when he heard the girls walking into the room, he raised his head to see who was entering.

Hermione sucked in her breath when she saw him. He was sporting an impressive black eye that extended to the bridge of his nose. There were bags under his eyes which made her think that he hadn't slept much that night, and when she made eye contact with him, the sparkle that usually lived there was gone. It reminded her of when she had first met him, after he had spent 12 years in Azkaban.

When Sirius saw who had arrived into the classroom, he turned around and set his head back down.

The girls sat in their usual place, the table in front of the Marauders, and started to unpack their belongings. Hermione wanted to turn around and talk to Sirius- ask him how everything turned out. However, she didn't think this was the opportune moment.

As they waited for everyone to file into the classroom, the conversation was kept light. Mary talked about a boy in her Divination class, Marlene went into a lengthy monologue about broomstick maintenance and the importance of keeping the twigs clipped and neat, which made Lily think about the next Quidditch game.

"Who do you think will win?" Dorcas asked.

"Slytherin," Lily and Marlene said together.

"Really?" Mary asked with a hint of annoyance to her voice.

"Yeah, they're really good. Just about as good as Gryffindor," Lily said.

"Lucinda Talkalot is the Captain this year, and she's been on the team since she was a second year. While she mainly plays Keeper, I've seen her practice with the team and she could easily play any position," Marlene explained.

At this point, James and Peter walked into the classroom. James came in first and he looked around the classroom. When Sirius heard more footsteps coming in, he turned and made eye contact with his friend. James's gaze hardened. He quickly dropped eye contact and moved to sit in the back on the other side of the classroom. Peter followed him; his eyes lingered on Sirius for a moment, before looking down in an almost sad expression and following James.

There was an intake of breath at this point, from the entire class. The Marauders always sat together, in every class. They were the definition of friendship goals, and everyone knew it. Something pretty terrible had to happen to break them up, or rather- to have them completely cut Sirius off. Whispers started to float around the classroom before long, everyone coming up with reasons for the rift.

Flitwick walked into the classroom, and climbed up his stack of books to reach his usual teaching spot. He pulled out his parchment and noted the attendance of everyone, and his eyes lingered on the separated Marauders longer than usual- no doubt wondering if this was the beginning of some kind of prank.

Class went by uneventfully- Hermione took opportunities to peek behind her and check on Sirius. He was taking notes, and by the looks of them they were thorough. _Weird,_ she thought. Maybe he was taking them for Remus? He was out today for the day after the full moon- so it might have something to do with that.

Hermione knew the guilt that Sirius carried over this incident, even in the future. However, she didn't know what happened after this. She didn't know how long the rift stayed between them, or what happened to fix it. This might, unfortunately, be something that she just lets happen.

She had been thinking about that a lot, actually. After making her lists she had been racking her brains to think of everything that she could. Think about all the stories told to her by old order members, articles she read, and things she overheard. Anything, to try and save as many people as possible- but she forgot about this.

This is what sealed the hate between Snape and Sirius. Part of her wished that she had remembered this event in time, and had done something to stop it. If this hadn't happened, anything that happens in the future that required Snape and Sirius to work together would be infinitely easier. But, part of her thought that this needed to happen, especially for Sirius. She knew that Snape would be safe, because James ends up rescuing him. But she thought that having this guilt when it came to his friends will be important for Sirius. He needs to see the consequences of his actions and what happens when he doesn't think before doing. Losing his friends is one of the worst things that could happen to him, and he needed a little taste of it.

The rest of the day passed by much the same. All the classes that Hermione had with three quarters of the Marauders were spent with James and Peter shunning Sirius, and the whole class time everyone whispered under their breathes about what happened. The girls had finished their afternoon classes and were walking down to dinner.

"Have you guys heard the rumors about the Marauders?" Hermione asked.

"Which ones," Dorcas said with a roll of her eyes.

"Yeah, and the boys aren't talking- which only makes the rumors travel faster," Marlene replied.

"I heard that Sirius tried to kill Remus- that's why he's not here- and the cause of the separation," Mary said.

"Mandy Jorgenson told me it was because Sirius was gay and was in love with the other three," Dorcas said.

"That's just preposterous," Lily commented. "No one would believe that Sirius Black was gay."

"I heard that it had something to do with a dungbomb, a pair of socks, and the word radish," Hermione said sarcastically.

"Who did you hear that one from?" Mary said curiously.

"No one, I made it up. See how easy it was? Don't listen to everything that you're told," Hermione reminded her.

They all went down to dinner, and Hermione saw that Remus was back, and he was sitting with James and Peter. Sirius was nowhere to be found. Remus looked terrible. He had bag under his eyes that looked like he hadn't slept a wink last night. She could also see more scratches on his arm that peaked out of the sleeves on his robes. On top of that, he looked… Depressed? Disappointed? Distressed? Maybe it was a mixture of all three- but he clearly the incident took its toll on him.

The girls all ate, and then walked up to the library to work on a gruelingly long essay that had been assigned to them by Professor Bode, an over view of some of the best duels in the wizarding world, and they needed to break them down and study them for their next practical class.

When they walked into the library and saw Madam Hapner, the librarian, was sitting at her usual place, behind the desk that was next to the entrance of the library. Her eyes were concentrated on a corner of the library. When Hermione her head to see where she was looking, she was a bit shocked to see Sirius sitting by himself at a table; surrounded by books; doing his homework!

Hermione nudged Lily. "Look," she whispered and nodded her head in his direction.

Lily's face softened when she saw him. "He looks awful," she whispered back.

"Yeah, what do you think happened?" Hermione wondered aloud.

"I don't know," Lily replied. Her face looked like she was trying to deciding something. Finally she said, "Wait here," and she sighed and before walking towards the subject of their conversation.

When she reached his table, Sirius looked up expectantly, but then frowned slightly when he realized it was just Lily. Sirius didn't say anything to her; he just turned his head back to his work without saying anything to her.

"What are you working on?" Lily asked a bit nervously.

"Bode's essay," Sirius mumbled.

"Well, we were about to start on it as well. Do you… I mean would you mind if we came and worked on it with you?" Lily asked.

Sirius looked up, a little startled and confused by her question. His eyebrows furrowed together, he asked "You want to sit with me?"

Lily smiled. "Well yeah- It's kind of hard to work on something together when we're sitting at different tables."

Sirius looked down at the table and empty chairs around him, before looking back up at Lily. "Why are you being nice to me?" he blurted out.

"You look like you could use it," she said with a shrug. If possible, his eyebrows furrowed even more.

"But… I didn't… I mean I haven't… I don't deserve it," he said after a moment.

"Everyone deserves kindness, and when someone thinks they don't deserve it, it's usually when they need it the most," she said.

Sirius stared at Lily very intently after that. To Hermione, it looked like he couldn't put into words the emotions he was feeling, but that look he was giving her was trying to communicate everything that he couldn't say. Sirius nodded his head before croaking out a soft "Thank you."

Lily turned around and waved the group over to them.

"Sirius had agreed to work with us on Bode's essay," Lily said excitedly.

Everyone say down and got to work. Hermione, however, was happy enough to just sit back for a moment and watch the two new friends interact with each other. Whenever Hermione had thought about Harry's parents and their friends, she had always imagined that they all got along. When she first arrived in this decade, it became very clear to her that they were not close at all. It made her heart happy to see them like this, and she knew that Harry would be happy, too.

Over the next few days it seemed like Sirius became a constant presence with the group of girls. She and Sirius had always been close, but it seemed like he gravitated towards Lily now. Not like he was attracted to her, but I think she provided something to him that he needed in that moment. But because of that, there wasn't a good time for Hermione to talk with Sirius about what happened. It was also inconvenient for her because the rest of the Marauders tended to stay away from wherever Sirius was, so she didn't get a chance to speak to them about what happened either.

Whether Siriu was doing it on purpose or not, it was almost a week before she found a time to talk to him one on one. It was late, or early, whichever way you look at it. Hermione had awoken from another nightmare. They didn't come too often, but when they did they absolutely terrified her. This time it was when her and Harry were in Bathilda Bagshots's house and were trying to escape from Voldemort's snake, Nagini.

She looked down at her pajamas for a moment, a pair of shorts, a tee-shirt, and thick wool socks, and thought about changing but decided the odds of meeting anyone down there at this time were slim to none. She did grab a bobble to tie her hair up in a top knot before she grabbed a book, _Pride and Prejudice_ , and a blanket and went down into the common room to clear her mind and lose herself in the novel. When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she saw Sirius lying on the couch in front of the fire, sleeping.

Her brows furrowed, and she quietly walked over to where he laid and kneeled down on the floor in from of him. He was facing the fireplace, and in the softly glowing light from the flames, his face gained a softness to it that it usually didn't have. He was still handsome, but all of the hard and sharp aristocratic edges that made him so uniquely attractive, were hidden in shadows, and gave him a younger look- like when he was younger and hadn't had to worry about the weight of the world.

His eye was slowly healing, but now it looked worse than it had a week ago. It was splotched with purple and green, and there were hints of yellow. The swelling had gone down. Hermione had asked him why he didn't have Madam Pomfrey just heal it, and he told her it was because he deserve to have it just healed away.

Sirius was laying down, dressed in soft drawstring pants and a black tee-shirt. She looked around to see if he might have fallen asleep while reading or something, but didn't see a book or anything.

Hermione put her hand on his head, and slowly brushed the hair off from his forehead, while whispering his name.

"Sirius," she said. He stirred in his sleep, and his head tilted towards her hand, the way a dog leans into your touch. She smiled at this, and brushed her hand through his hair again, and little firmer.

"Sirius- wake up," she whispered. His eyelids started to flutter. Repeating these steps one more time was finally enough to wake him.

"Hey, you fell asleep in the common room," she said.

He sat up and squinted at her through his sleepiness. When he saw who was waking him, he shot up to a sitting position and looked around.

"What time is it?" he panicked.

"Uhh… about half past one in the morning," Hermione told him. She saw his body relax, and then turn to look at her.

"What are you doing up?" he asked.

"Nightmare," she said. She showed him her book. "I thought I would try to read for a bit and forget about it," she shrugged. He nodded his understanding.

"What are _you_ doing down here?" she asked him.

"I fell asleep," he said vaguely.

"In your pajamas?" she probed.

He sighed. "I haven't exactly felt… wanted… up in the dormitory," he confessed.

"So you've been sleeping down here?"

"Yeah…" he trailed off.

"So… do you mind if I asked what happened?" Hermione said carefully.

Sirius rubbed his hands up and down his face a few times before answering.

"I don't really want to talk about it now- another time?" his answer was genuine.

"Sure, if you want too," Hermione said. They stayed like that for another moment before Sirius moved over.

"You came down here to read- right?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she said. Sirius moved over and gestured to the spot next to him.

Hermione stood up and she shivered at the cold before she sat down on the couch next to him.

"Cold?" He asked. When she nodded her head he got up and walked over to the fire place and poked at the dying flames a bit, before tossing a few more longs on top and bring it back to life. He walked back over and sat down. She covered them both with the blanket she brought with her and opened her book to start reading. She didn't get very far though, because Sirius was fidgeting around, trying to get comfortable.

"You're moving around like you've got ants in your pants," she told him.

He stopped moving and gave her one of those cheeky grins. "You wondering what's in my pants, kitten?" he said and added a little wink at the end.

Hermione's face went a bit pink. Sweet Merlin did it do something to her when he called her 'kitten'. "It's just a muggle saying. It means quit moving around so much."

"Well I need to be comfortable if I'm going to have a bed time story," he insisted.

She looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Don't you think you're a little old for a bed time story?" she asked.

"What do you call what you're doing?" he huffed as he pulled out his wand and summoned a coffee table over to them. He put up his feet and then snuggled back down into the couch.

"Fine, I'll read to you," Hermione gave in. "But I can't until you stop moving," she insisted.

"Almost there," he said. He put a pillow behind his head and adjusted it until it was just right. When he was done with that, he put his hands on Hermione's shoulders and pulled them so her back was leaning on his stomach and the back of her head and propped on his chest. She made a little noise of surprise but it was covered by him announcing "Ready!"

She knew that she probably shouldn't have allowed them to lie together like that, but she was so happy to see him starting to joke around a little bit that she didn't have the heart to move. Plus, it wasn't like this was a bad place to be. His chest was firm, but not bulging and uncomfortable. Plus, his scent was very relaxing- he always smelled woodsy, but there were hints of other scents at different times. Now there was a hint of mint from his toothpaste and mouthwash.

"I'm already about half way through the book, you know?" Hermione said.

"I'll catch up," Sirius insisted.

Hermione took a deep breath and began to read:

 _She answered him with cold civility. He sat down for a few moments, and then getting up, walked about the room. Elizabeth was surprised, but said not a word. After a silence of several minutes, he came towards her in an agitated manner, and thus began:_

" _In vain I have struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed. You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you."_

"So you don't do voices?" Sirius teased.

"Nope," she said tilting her head back to look up at him.

"Who are these people?" he asked.

"Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth," Hermione explained.

"And they're in love," Sirius inferred.

"Not exactly," she corrected.

"He didn't give her Amortentia, did he?" Sirius cupper his hands around her ear and whispered into them as he asked her this.

"Why are we whispering," she whispered back, holding back a shiver as she felt his breath tickle her skin.

"Even thinking about pranks makes me whisper," Sirius said.

"Okay," she hushed. "Well, this is a muggle book, so there are not love potions in it," she told him.

"Really? Cool, I've never read a muggle book before," he said sitting back and tucking his hands behind his head to stretch out more.

"They didn't have to learn about muggle authors in Muggle Studies?" Hermione asked.

"I think we learn about those next year," Sirius said thoughtfully.

"Well, let's give you a head start," Hermione said as she continued.

" _In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike-,"_ she read.

"Ahh," he said in understanding. She continued.

 _In spite of her deeply-rooted dislike, she could not be insensible to the complement of such a man's affection, and though her intentions did not vary for an instant, she was at first sorry for the pain he was to receive; tell, roused to resentment by his subsequent language, she lost all compassion in anger._

" _In such cases as this, it is, I believe, the established mode to express a sense of obligation for the sentiments avowed, however unequally they may be returned. It is natural that obligation should be felt, and if I could FEEL gratitude, I would now thank you. But I cannot—I have never desired you good opinion, and you have certainly bestowed it most unwillingly."_

"Ouch. That's like an old timey way to say take a hike, right?" Sirius asked.

"Basically," Hermione answered before continuing on.

" _And this is all the reply which I am to have the honour of expecting! I might, perhaps, wish to be informed why, with so little ENDEAVOUR at civility, I am thus rejected."_

" _I might as well inquire," replied she, "why with so evident a desire of offending and insulting me, you chose to tell me that you liked me against your will, against your reason, and even against your character? Was not this some excuse for incivility, if I WAS uncivil? But I have other provocations. You know I have."_

"What did he do?" Sirius wondered.

"The first time they met, he kind of insulted her by refusing to dance with her, and then after that he was prideful and judging. He also interfered with her sisters engagement and then there was something else with an acquaintance of theirs and she thinks that Darcy did him wrong," Hermione explained.

"And he thought that she would be in love with him!" Sirius said aghast.

"He saw there interactions from a very different perspective," Hermione tried to explain without giving anything way.

"Have you read this before?"

"Actually, quite a few times," she told him before reading aloud.

" _You could not have made the offer of your hand in any possible way that would have tempted me to accept it."_

"Is this just a story about him eventually figuring out a way to get her to marry him?" Sirius said with a sarcastic edge to his voice.

"It's more than that. This is one of the most read books in the muggle world, and is at the top of some of the most comprehensive lists of muggle literature," she explained.

"So what you're saying is… muggles like it?" Sirius teased.

"Yeah, muggles like it."

" _From the very beginning—from the first moment, I may almost say—of my acquaintance with you, your manners, impressing me with the fullest belief of your arrogance, your conceit, and your selfish disdain of the feelings of others, were such as to form the groundwork of disapprobation on which succeeding events have built so immovable a dislike; and I had not known you a month before I felt that you were the last man in the world whom I could ever be prevailed on to marry."_

"Now that was pretty clear. You're telling me that after she said that, he would still go after her?" he said with disbelief.

"It's… I guess it's hard to explain. You're only seeing things from Elizabeth's point of view-," she said as she turned again to look at him, but was cut off quickly.

"Wait a minute, you're defending this bloke an awful lot, this Mr. Darcy," Sirius observed.

"I've read the book before, so I know what happens. Don't just look at what's there on the surface," Hermione tried to explain.

"I don't think so," he said leaning closer. He brought one of his hands up to her face and poked her nose. "You fancy him," he concluded.

"That's ridiculous, he's a fictional character. You can't fancy someone who isn't real," Hermione insisted.

"Alright then, well you think he's something special- swoon worthy even," he said and he raised his eyebrows in a suggestive way.

"I think most women who read this book think that Mr. Darcy is swoon worthy," Hermione admitted.

"Really? Because he doesn't sound so great," Sirius said with a frown.

"I promise," she said. She saw his eyes light up at the thought of a challenge.

"I'll hold you to that," he said.

They read for a long time that night, Sirius occasionally interrupting her to ask questions or make observations. They got to a point when Elizabeth is pretty sure of her feelings for Darcy, and is seeking him out at the functions and trying to catch his eye.

"So that's all it takes is a letter?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"That's what starts it. It was a way for him to explain his side of the story. They both needed to learn from their mistakes and take other people's feelings into considerations before doing things or speaking," Hermione explained.

Sirius went very still at this, and Hermione knew why. She hadn't meant it, but she touched a bit on the subject of the other Marauders.

"I kind of told Snape about Remus," Sirius confessed softly. Hermione turned to look at him.

"Why?"

"I was mad. He beat me in our fight, and he said those things to you, you know, and he is always trying to ask questions about Remus and I just let my… anger take over," he admitted. She pursed her lips.

"So I guess Remus is upset?"

"They're all upset. I've never seen James so mad, and Remus is the one who gave me this," he said pointing to his eye.

"Can't say you didn't deserve it- have you talked to them?"

"I… well I guess. Maybe… they just yelled a lot. I didn't mean to hurt Moony, I just wanted to teach Snape a lesson." Sirius told her.

"It sounds a lot like what Darcy did to Bingley," Hermione said.

"Wait, you mean Bingley is a werewolf?" Sirius gasped.

"No, it's a muggle book, remember? I just meant that Darcy did something that affected Bingley, and didn't really take Bingley's feelings into account or talk to him about it before hand. He just did it and it ended in a mess," she explained. Sirius was quiet for a while, so Hermione decided to continue. "However, Darcy was lucky that Bingley and he were such good friends, and Bingley was able to forgive Darcy for it. But he had to earn it."

Sirius sighed. "I guess this is me earning it?"

"I think you need to find a time to talk to him. All of them, actually- and you need to be prepared that they won't forgive you right away. Also, an apology goes a long way."

Hermione was silent for a moment, letting those words sink into him before she turned back and kept reading. It wasn't too long after that she heard a soft snore coming from behind her, and when she looked back she saw Sirius with his eyes closer, and his mouth open slightly.

Hermione watched him for a moment before putting down the book and closing her eyes.

She awoke a few hours later, and the first thing that caught her attention was the fact that her mattress was moving slowly up and down. However, her attention was quickly averted to her second observation, which was whatever was on her breast.

She opened her eyes quickly, and looked down to see an arm lying across her chest with the hand coming to an end on her breast. She looked up and saw that her mattress was Sirius, and the memories of the night before came flooding back.

Hermione was lucky that it was a weekend, because this is the last place she would want to be caught, especially in her current situation. She looked down at the hand, and she could feel the warmth from his hand seeping into her skin through her shirt.

She had gone to the Yule Ball with Krum, and while they had kissed a few times it had never been more than that- and the same with Ron during the Battle of Hogwarts. She wasn't wearing a bra, because she was in her pajamas and didn't wear one to bed. She had never had someone touch her there before, so the fact that it was as close a touch as it was didn't escape her notice.

It was strangely intimate, and not at the same time. It wasn't done on purpose- like there were no romantic or lustful feelings behind it, but at the same time Hermione couldn't help but notice how her skin was prickling under his touch, or the fact that her breath was coming a bit faster than usual.

She shifted her body a bit from where she was, hoping to move his hand without alerting him too what had been going on- that was the last thing she needed him to know. However, all that seemed to accomplish was to drag her already somewhat erect nipple (it was cold, the fire had gone out) across his hand. Hermione sucked in her breath at this, the feeling sending a jolt of something through her body. She stilled her movements to prevent any further… sensations. She jumped a bit, however, when her mattress shifted, and caused an elbow to go into Sirius's stomach.

He awoke and looked down at her, first with a confused expression, and then a smile. Hermione looked at him right in the eye, and then down to where his hand rested.

"Nice," he said with a nod, but his face paled when her face flushed and he realized that it was _his_ hand. He immediately pulled it back. He cleared his throat a couple of times, and mumbled an apology.

She sat up and scooted over on the couch a bit to give them some space.

"Morning," she mumbled.

"Morning," he said.

"Do you know what time it is?" she asked.

"No, but it looks early. I bet it's before breakfast," he suggested.

They were quite again. Hermione picked up her book off of the floor where it had fallen, and then stood up.

"Well, I'm going to get dressed and go down to breakfast," she said.

"Need any help," he said with a mischievous smile and his eyes traveled down to her chest.

"Hey," she said and she hit him lightly with her book. "Just because you cop a feel in your sleep doesn't mean it will be allowed whenever." She put the book against her chest and then folded her arms over it.

He laughed at her. "Okay, so just breakfast then?" and he stood up from his spot on the couch and handed her the blanket they had slept under.

"I think you should go up to the dorm and try to talk to your friends," she said. Sirius looked at her with fear. "You should do it as soon as possible. The sooner you do the sooner you all can get past it," she argued.

He sighed. "You're right, I'm just nervous," he admitted.

"Do you want me to wait for you?"

"No, you go down. I might not feel like joining if things go…bad," he told her, looking at the ground.

"How about this- I'll go upstairs and see if Lily's awake and wants to go to breakfast. We'll wait for you in the common room and if things don't go great at first we can kip down to the kitchens and bypass the Great Hall altogether," Hermione said to him with a smile.

He turned his face back to her and gave her a grateful smile before stepping forward and enveloping her in a tight embrace.

"I take this as a 'yes'," she teased as she hugged him back. He chuckled into her ear and squeezed her again before letting go and stepping back.

"Good luck," she said and they both went up the stairs together.

Hermione entered the girl's dormitory, expecting to see everyone still asleep. However, it was strangely busy. Lily was sitting in a chair while Mary braided her hair. Music was playing and Marlene was doing her morning exercises between the beds. Hermione could hear the shower running and someone singing-Dorcas, she guessed. Dorcas was always singing in the mornings.

"Wow, everyone's up so early," Hermione observed. She slipped into the room and over to her trunk of clothes.

"And where were you?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow.

"I… uh- fell asleep in the common room," Hermione replied vaguely, pulling out clothes randomly to try and make an outfit.

"With…" Lily prodded.

Hermione stilled her movements and turned to look at the redhead.

"What do you know?" Hermione accused her.

Lily giggled and this and flicked her eyes to the brunette behind her. Mary was looking like she was going to burst, but kept her attention on the pieces of hair that she was holding.

"Mary…" Hermione drawled.

"I saw you sleeping with Sirius!" Mary yelled.

Hermione groaned while Lily and Mary giggled together. It was Marlene's reaction that caught everyone off guard.

"You too?" she said, shocked.


	21. Chapter 21

**A/N:** So I want to say first of all that I'm sorry for the wait. I'm usually better at updating then I have been, and I feel bad for making you guys wait. I started school again, and I'm doing a practicum along with my course load and my job, so I'm balancing a lot. I also just got back from vacation, and I went to Universal Studios in Orland, Florida, so I was out of state for a week for that. But there Harry Potter world in Universal, so I am very inspired to write right now- I just don't have the time. Reviews help, though!

So I've had this chapter almost done for quite a while, and it's a little shorter than usual but there's some good stuff in here, if I do say so myself. I also want to say that I know that Sirius's birthday is November 3, but for this story I needed it to be a little later in the month. It doesn't really change anything, but I know that bothers some people and I just wanted to give you guys the heads up. Anyway, that all I've got! Enjoy the next chapter!

 **Disclaimer** : I don't own Harry Potter. But I am the proud owner of a Weasley sweater as of last week! One step closer to being part of the Weasley family =]]

Chapter 21

"What do you mean 'you too'?" Lily asked.

"When did you fall asleep with Sirius?" Mary asked. She turned to look at Marlene with a knowing look on her face- Lily's red locks completely forgotten at this point.

"I… uh- I mean…" Marlene mumbled.

"Sirius and I fell asleep on the couch together last night," Hermione said loudly in order to clarify to everyone in the room.

"Oh yeah, uh… me too- that's what I meant," Marlene said nervously.

"Marlene, is there something you'd like to share with the group?" Lily asked.

Marlene took a deep breath and sighed. "I slept with Sirius last year," she admitted.

The shrill shrieks and giggles easily filled the room. However, that was not the loudest sound that came from this confession.

Dorcas, who had been in the shower prior to this, flung open the bathroom door at this admission and exclaimed, "What?"

"Where? When? How was it?"- Questions were being thrown at her fast and furious.

"Ugh… okay it was after the final Quidditch game last year when we lost to Slytherin. Sirius had a bottle of firewhisky and we got drunk and did it in an empty classroom," she told them.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Mary exclaimed.

"I don't know- I just, didn't. We never talked about it, and nothing else happened." Marlene shrugged.

"Was it good?" Lily asked.

"Lily!" Hermione exclaimed. She was sure that Harry would be horrified if he knew his mother was curious about how good his godfather was in bed.

"What? Inquiring minds want to know. It's not like I'm interested in him… but you have to admit that it's something that I think every girl has wondered. He flirts with all of the girls and even the teachers. He walks around the school like he's God's gift to women. It's time to find out if it's true," Lily admitted. No one said anything to refute her statement, so all eyes turned towards Marlene.

"He… got the job done," Marlene said. Her cheeks with tinged with pink and there was a satisfied smile on her lips. All the girls let out another round of squeals and giggles.

"That was your first time, right?" Dorcas asked.

"Yes," Marlene looked back as she answered while she walked toward the bathroom.

"Was it his first time?" Mary added.

"If it was then…" Marlene trailed off as she entered the bathroom turned around and winked before closing the door.

Hermione walked over to where Lily was still sitting. "Poor Sirius," she said.

"What do you mean? Sounds like Sirius had nothing to be sorry about," Lily teased in low and husky voice.

"I guess I mean that I _will_ feel sorry for Sirius. He's gone to talk to the boys right now and try to fix their friendship," Hermione told her. "And I'm supposed to check if you were awake and want to come down to breakfast. If he's forgiven, then we all go down to the Great Hall. If he's not then we go down to the kitchens where he can wallow in private."

"Wait, so do you feel bad because you think the boys won't forgive him?" Lily asked confused.

"No, I don't know about that. I feel bad because for the next week all the sixth year Gryffindor girls are going to be giving him a once over and giggling," Hermione laughed.

"Somehow I don't think that he'll mind," Lily said with a wink.

Hermione got ready for the day. It was very windy in the drafty castle, so Hermione and Lily had both opted for warm sweaters and wool socks. They headed down to the common room to wait for Sirius. Mary hadn't ended up finishing Lily's hair, so Hermione took a shot at it.

"So I take this one and I switch places with this one, and then I take this one and they switch places. But then how am I supposed to pick up more hair and add it to this side," Hermione talked to herself.

"Just move this piece over between those two fingers, and then this hand is free to pick up another strand," said a voice next to her ear. Hermione turned her head and found her face _very_ close to Sirius Black.

"Uhh… thanks," she said. She felt a slight blush start to creep up her neck, and had to look away from him and back to what her hands were doing.

"Okay, so I did that, then I switch these two pieces again?" Hermione clarified.

"Yeah, but remember how I told you how to hold them? Switch hands so the left hand can take hair from the left side," he explained.

It took nearly ten minutes of Hermione trying, Lily being very patient, and Sirius giving her instructions over her shoulder- but she finally finished.

"Done," she said while tying the bobble to the end of the braid. It wasn't perfect, but she did it.

"Great job," Sirius congratulated her.

"Thanks," she replied. She turned to look at Lily. "Why don't you go up and see how it looks before we go?"

"Okay," Lily said. She looked at Sirius and raised an eyebrow. "Hey," Lily said before heading up the stairs.

Sirius shook his head and turned towards Hermione with a worried expression. "Was Lily hitting on me? Because that could not come at a worse time, I mean I'm trying to fix things with the guys and if James found out then-," Sirius started to rant.

"No, she wasn't hitting on you. Listen," she leaned in and whispered, "How did it go?"

"Um, okay I guess," Sirius told her. "He said… he said that he wasn't mad anymore and he felt bad about the eye- but, he didn't trust me." He hung his head when he said these words.

"So what does that mean?" Hermione asked.

"I think it means that we're taking things slow," Sirius eventually said.

"That sounds like you're starting a new relationship," Hermione laughed.

"Laugh all you want, but I'm taking this seriously," Sirius insisted.

"But… aren't you always Sirius?" Hermione joked.

"Yeah, laugh it up funny girl. But I'm not going to mess up this time," Sirius said.

"I believe it," Hermione said honestly.

Lily came back down the stairs, still giving Sirius the once over, and they all walked out of the portrait hall.

"So, where are we going?" Lily asked.

"Great Hall," Sirius answered.

"Ahh… so I guess things went well?" Lily inferred.

"They're taking things slow," Hermione told her.

"So they're dating?" Lily teased. Hermione and Lily laughed and eventually Sirius joined them, slinging an arm over each of their shoulders and walking together. They made their way to the Great Hall and saw that Marlene, Mary, and Dorcas were already sitting there. The trio sat down and Mary and Dorcas starting giving Sirius the same looks that Lily had been giving him just moments before. Sirius sent a confused and uncomfortable look towards Hermione, but she just shook her head and whispered, "Later."

"Hey, so Hermione and I were talking about this book, and she said something that I want to put to the test. What's that book called again?" Sirius asked Hermione.

" _Pride and Prejudice,"_ Hermione answered.

"Yeah, that one- what do you ladies think of Mr. Darcy?" he proposed to the group. He got a sigh and far off stares from Mary and Lily and confused looks from Dorcas and Marlene.

"Who's Mr. Darcy?" Marlene asked.

"He's a character in the book- the ideal tall, dark, and handsome," Lily explained. "But also quiet, mysterious, and passionate."

"Sounds great, where can I get one?" Dorcas teased.

"So it's true, that all the girls that read the book think he's swoon worthy?" Sirius asked in disbelief.

"I don't know if I would go so far as to say that all women who read the book like him, but maybe like 98%," Mary estimated.

"Huh, I guess I don't understand you birds like I thought I did," Sirius admitted in annoyance and fascination.

"I told you that you needed to finish the book," Hermione said. "You haven't read it all the way thought."

The rest of the Marauders walked into the Great Hall at this point, and it was a moment of sheer awkwardness for everyone involved. They walked down the space between the tables and eventually came to sit with the group.

"Morning," Lily greeted. They all repeated the gesture.

"Hey Remus, you read muggle books don't you?" Hermione asked.

"Yeah, sometimes- why?" Remus answered.

"Well we were just talking about the appeal that Mr. Darcy has on the female population," Hermione explained.

"And the fact that he would make most girls go weak in the knees," Remus continued.

"Damn it!" Sirius cursed. Remus looks at him in confusion.

"I hate being wrong," was all that Sirius responded with.

After breakfast, Hermione lingered to the back of the group while they walked back up to Gryffindor tower. She was able to discreetly hold Remus back too, so they could talk together with a bit of privacy.

"Hey, so Sirius told me what happened- how are you?" she asked.

Remus didn't answer at first, like the wheels were working overtime to figure out just how to put his emotions into words. "I keep thinking that a word will come to mind to describe it completely, but so far I haven't found one," he explained.

"I know he talked to you this morning," she said.

"Yeah, and I think it was good that he waited as long as he did. I'm… I'm not mad anymore. I mean I'm mad that it happened, but my anger had faded. But it's left with a sort of emptiness. I just can't trust Sirius right now. We're still friends, but there are things that are going to take time to rebuild," he told her. Hermione let a moment of silence hang between them before going on.

"If it's worth anything, I know that Sirius would do just about anything to fix this."

"I know, which makes it that much harder to wrap my mind around why he did it in the first place," Remus added with a shake of his head.

"Well," Hermione said as she linked her arm through his, "I think everything will work itself out and be right again."

"How do you always sound so sure of yourself?" he asked.

"A girl can't reveal all her secrets," she said and they laughed together.

The rest of the day went by and Hermione kept a close eye on the Marauders. While there was still a bit of tension in the air, she was happy to see all four friends together again.

However, on Sunday night Sirius couldn't take it anymore. Hermione and James and Sirius were sitting in front of the fire while Hermione taught them some muggle card games. Mary had just disappeared up the stairs and out of sight and sound, when Sirius exploded.

"What is going on with the girls in your dorm Hermione? They keep looking at me like I'm a piece of meat," Sirius complained.

"And that's a problem?" Hermione said with a raise eyebrow.

"It's usually not, but I've come to an understanding about where all of those girls and I stand, and now I'm not sure. You told me that Lily wasn't hitting on me the other day, but I don't-," Sirius was cut off.

"Lily was _what_?" James exclaimed.

"Oh, shove off," Hermione said to James before turning back to Sirius. "You really don't know?"

"I haven't done anything to them, but they can't stay away. When Dorcas said that she 'tripped' and fell into my lap the other day, I don't think it was an accident. She took way too long to get up," Sirius said.

"And how do you think females feel whenever you're around?" she teased.

Sirius gasped. "Are they just doing this to teach me a lesson? Because if that the case then-," Sirius was cut off again by James.

"You're complaining about women hitting on you?" James said aghast.

"No, well not exactly- I just don't understand where it came from," Sirius defended.

"Why are you questioning it?" James said with raised brows.

"Wouldn't you?" Sirius exclaimed.

Hermione just sat there and watched the two friends arguing. She knew once she told him the truth it would become impossible to be around him, so she let it linger as long as possible.

"- if someone sneaks a feel at your bits," Sirius finished.

"Wait, why are we arguing?" James realized.

"I don't know," Sirius admitted. "What were we talking about?" he asked Hermione.

"I haven't the foggiest," Hermione lied. She didn't know how long she would keep that secret, and she didn't know how long it would be until the girls outgrew their new knowledge of Mr. Black, but she planned on keeping it to herself as long as possible.

The next week, Hermione was dreading to go to potions. She hadn't run into Snape since their fight and she wasn't sure what to expect. This was the first time she had seen him be outright mean, and very reminiscent of the man she knew in the future. And she also hadn't talked to him since the incident with Sirius and the Whomping Willow. She didn't know how she was going to be received, but she had made it one of her goals to befriend him and hopefully give him a different outlook on what he thinks his life should be.

Hermione left the group a little early, knowing that Snape usually got to classes before anyone else. Figuring that this would be a good time for them to speak without an audience, she headed down to the dungeons and into the potions room.

Snape was sitting at their usual table, with his bag sitting on the stool next to him- which didn't give her a good sign. Taking a deep breath, she walked over and stood next to the stool that she usually occupied.

"Hey," she said. Snape didn't look up from his book, nor did he say anything.

Standing up a little straighter, Hermione started again, but in a deeper voice this time. "Good morning Hermione, how are you?" This was her best mock of Snape's voice.

"I'm fine, thanks for asking," Hermione said in a mock of her own voice. Hermione saw Snape's lip twitch, but still he didn't look up.

"Listen, I wanted to apologize for our fight last week," Hermione said. She gave him a moment, hoping he would actually join in the conversation. Snape flipped the page, but his head turned just slightly in her direction. So, Hermione continued with her approach.

"Yeah, I feel bad about it too. I was feeling grumpy and took it out on you," Hermione explained in the mock Snape voice. He actually snorted at this. Hermione took this as a good sigh.

"And I lashed out at you, instead of being more sensitive," said mock Hermione.

"So, we both know what we did was wrong," fake Snape admitted.

"Yes, and we have learned from our mistakes," concluded fake Hermione.

"So, why don't you just sit down- we are potions partners from here to eternity after all," fake Snape said.

Hermione held her breath, waiting to see if that ridiculous skit she had just put on would work. Silence fell upon them, for what seemed like a very long time. Finally, without lifting his eyes from the book, Snape lifted his bag off of the stool and onto the floor.

Grinning at her little victory, she quickly sat down and started getting her things out for the lesson.

The two potions partners just sat in silence, both content to look through their books at the potion they would be covering that day. Soon the rest of the class started to file in, and Hermione received a lot of questioning looks from the Gryffindors, but she just shook her head and shrugged. The one person she didn't receive a look from was Sirius. She had expected him to have some kind of reaction, but it seemed like he was trying to be on his best behavior and wasn't even looking in Snape's direction. He threw Hermione a quick and small smile, before taking his seat next to James.

The week that followed was one of the best they had experienced in a while. The Marauders were all back together again and there seemed to be an understanding in the group. They even pulled their first prank since the 'incident' and even Lily couldn't find it in herself to yell at them.

They had charmed all of the Slytherin emblems in the school to cat call and whistle at the Gryffindors. While it was meant to be a harmless prank, however, there were some reactions that the boys couldn't account for. While walking to the Great Gall between their last morning class and lunch, a few 7th year boys were walking by a couple of 5th year Slytherins when a fight broke out.

"Hey, nice trousers," called the emblem on the 5th years robes.

"Uh… thanks?" replied the 7th year.

"But they're look better on the floor of my dormitory," the 5th years emblem replied.

However, the 7th year didn't know it was a prank, and the ensuing fight caused laughter, tears, and detention for all involved.

The weather seemed to be happy for the Marauders as well. The rain had stopped and the sun was shining during the day, enough for some walks around the grounds. But the peacefulness wouldn't last for long, because this school housed the Marauders and there was nothing the Marauders liked more than chaos and excitement.

Sirius's birthday is at the end of November, and Hermione learned that it's customary for the Marauders to throw big parties when one of their own turns another year older. From stories that the girls in her dormitory had told her, they were usually huge parties with a ton of people, and the locations are always different. They're been in unused classrooms, out on the grounds, in the Hufflepuff common room, and various other places in the castle.

But the excitement leading up to the event itself, is finding your invitation. I guess it's a big game of hide and seek; meaning that you are apt to find it in the weirdest and uncommon places. The day the invitations went out was always a flurry of excitement and curiosity. You never knew where you would find yours.

"Well, I've found mine," Marlene announced in the girls dormitory, holding up a piece of parchment.

"Where was it this time?" Mary asked.

"In my underwear drawer," Marlene answered.

"Again?" Lily asked.

"Well, we now have an understanding as to why it's always in her underwear drawer," Dorcas muttered. A pillow came from behind her and smacked into the back of her head.

"I heard that," Marlene yelled.

"You were supposed to," Dorcas yelled back with a grin.

"What's the theme?" Mary asked.

When Marlene started to laugh, an audible groan could be heard from Lily.

"This doesn't sound good," Lily moaned.

"It's a toga party," Marlene announced.

"You mean like the Greeks?" Hermione clarified.

"Yeah, it says that appropriate attire is required and it will be held on Saturday November 27th at 8 o'clock in Greenhouse one," Marlene read.

Hermione groaned.

"What's wrong?" Lily asked.

"I have to work that weekend," Hermione answered in a defeated tone.

"Oh, no! Can you check with your aunt and ask if you can switch weekends?" Mary asked.

"I don't think so. I already had to switch last month for the Hogsmeade weekend, I would feel like I'm taking advantage. I'll just have to come by when I'm done," Hermione said.

"That's a bummer, it would have been fun for us to all get ready together," Marlene commented.

"I guess I'll have to bring my stuff and change at the The Three Broomsticks," Hermione sighed.

"It shouldn't be too late. Don't you usually get out of work around nine? Maybe Rosmerta might let you out a little early. The party starts at eight, so you won't miss too much," Lily said encouragingly.

"Wait, but it's in the greenhouse- if the party doesn't start until 8 then we will be out after hours," Hermione realized.

"Yeah, that's how it always goes. But you know those guys, they know everything about Hogwarts. At the end of the night they take groups of people back to their houses and no one ever gets caught," Marlene said.

Hermione thought about this, and realized that with as much intelligence those boys possessed, figuring out the logistics of a party like this really wasn't beyond their ability. It sounds like every last detail is planned out and executed. But one thing she did wonder about-

"Marlene, if they hid your invitation in the girl's dorm, then that must mean that one or all of them knows how to get passed the staircase," Hermione figured. Honestly, she hadn't thought about it before, but it didn't surprise her.

"Yeah, Lily's had this argument with the boys every party since second year," Mary explained.

"And every year she never gets closer to the answer," Marlene finished.

"Well I've decided this year to just say 'to hell with it'! It just ends up being a waste of my time," Lily said.

"Good for you Lil! I think being around the Marauders this year has rubbed off on you a little," Dorcas exclaimed. Lily looked momentarily panicked at the thought, before Hermione could jump in.

"I think that Lily's just realized that it's a hopeless cause, and it's not like they caused any problems in here. Is anyone's stuff missing, or does it look they're stuff has been messed with?" Hermione asked. The girls gave the room a good look around but didn't find anything else out of place.

"Found my invitation," Dorcas announced from the bathroom.

"Where?"

"The prats emptied my shampoo bottle and stuck it in there," she said with a note of annoyance. "Hermione, can I borrow some of your shampoo?" Dorcas asked.

"Sure," she said.

With two invitations found, the other three girls made sure to keep their eyes peeled- but nothing was found until they went down to breakfast and Mary found hers when she opened the lid on the jar of sugar. Hermione looked around, and there were no Marauders to be seen anywhere.

When said troublemakers finally made an appearance at the breakfast table, Hermione had to say something.

"How do you guys get the invitations to everyone? I mean Dorcas found hers in a shampoo bottle!" she exclaimed. "And Mary found hers in a jar of sugar. You weren't around, how did you know she would find it… or that it would get to her?"

"Hermione, I thought you would know better by now that it's a Mystery of the Marauder!" Remus declared with a hand over his heart and his chest puffed out. The other three followed after.

"However you guys do it, you still owe me a bottle of shampoo," Dorcas said.

Sirius leaned over and lifted a lock of her dark hair and sniffed it. "Why don't you just use this kind, it smells way better than the other stuff you were using," Sirius told her.

"That's because Hermione let me use hers when I realized mine had vanished," Dorcas informed him.

"Did she lather in up for your hair too?" Sirius asked with a tone that you just knew he was picturing dirty things in his mind. Hermione gave a little wink to Dorcas before answering Sirius.

"Yeah, but Mary did her back," she said in a nonchalant way. She looked around the room and saw that all four of the boys were sporting far off looks on their faces at this comment.

Dorcas found her invitation when they were in Defense Against the Dark Arts, and it had been stuck between the pages of the material they were covering that day. Hermione looked over at the Marauders, but they were all deep in conversation about something.

Later in the day Lily found her invitation when McGonagall was handing back their homework. It saw slipped into the rolls of parchment that held her graded assignment.

Feeling a little left out, Hermione kept her eyes open for anything out of the ordinary all day. Nothing she didn't find anything in any of her other classes, or at lunch or dinner that day. By the end, Hermione was feeling a bit discouraged and went upstairs to bed a bit of a mood.

She changed into her pajamas and pulled back the curtains of her four-poster, when she noticed her copy of _Pride and Prejudice_ lying on top of her pillow. She gingerly picked up the book and flipped it open to the page that she had left off on. There, nestled in tightly behind her, book mark was an invitation to Sirius's birthday party. Smiling to herself, she snuggled into her bed and opened the book up for a little bed time reading.


	22. Chapter 22

**A/N:** I'm so sorry that this had taken me so long to update! My schedule is crazy busy right now, and I'm having a hard time getting the motivation to write. I was also suffering through some writers block during this last chapter. It's like I knew what I wanted to happen, but I just couldn't figure out how to make it work. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this! I wish I could say that I'll update soon, but I can't promise =[ I will say that reviews do help me to feel motivated ;]

Chapter 22

Leading up to the party was actually a quiet affair. The Marauders were busy with their plans for the big party, which meant that the days went by without much in the way of incident. A couple of days before the party Hermione had made an appointment with Dumbledore to discuss her plans for the duration of her time in this decade. She told the password to the griffin that guarded the headmaster's office (sugar quills) and started up the stairs. Knocking once, she heard a voice on the other side of the door say "Come in," and she entered the office.

"Good evening, Miss. Granger," Dumbledore said.

"Good evening sir," she repeated.

"So, what brings you here tonight?" He asked.

"Well, I wanted to talk to you about some events, erm- things… things from the future," she told him a little unsurely.

"I see- and what help could I be in this matter?"

"In my time Harry- my friend- he would go to you to talk about anything. Everyone always talked about you and said that you were one of the greatest wizards of all time. I think that you are one of the only people that I _could_ ask for help with this. It also helps that you already know that I'm from the future and understand the circumstances," she explained.

"Really, people say that about me? Well I am flattered Miss. Granger, and I will do my best to help you," he said with a little twinkle in his eyes.

"Okay, so I guess I should start at the beginning," Hermione started to say.

"I'm going to ask something of you before you begin, Miss. Granger. Please only tell me the things that you think are imperative for me to know. I understand that some things need to be explained, but there are still a lot of uncertainties when it comes to time-travel," he stated.

"I understand," Hermione acknowledged. She explained everything that was important, and caught him up on the important things over the past seven years of her life- the most important pieces of which were the Horcruxes.

"How many did Tom make?" Dumbledore asked worriedly.

"In my time there were seven," Hermione told him. "However, I think there are a few that haven't been made yet. I made a list of them here sir." She handed him the parchment that had the list of Horcruxes on the, where they were, and if they had been made yet.

"You can see that I've already found the one in the Room of Requirement," she explained.

"Pardon me?" Dumbledore asked.

"Oh, it's a room here in the castle. It's a special room that provides someone with anything that they want. Although, they still have to abide by the laws of magic," she said with a little chuckle.

"And Tom hid a piece of his soul here in the castle?" Dumbledore questioned.

"Yes. Hogwarts was the one place that felt like home to him. He hid it that day that he came back to the school to ask for a job," Hermione informed him.

"Interesting," Dumbledore mused.

"So I found that one, but I don't know how to destroy it," she confessed.

"How did you get rid of them in your time?" he asked.

"During our second year, Harry battled a Basilisk with the sword of Gryffindor that he pulled out of the sorting hat," she explained with a bit of pride in the actions of her best friend. "After that, the blade became impregnated with the venom, and could then destroy the Horcrux. I hadn't been able to find anything else that will destroy them, besides Fiendfyre, and I don't feel confident enough to try to meddle with that stuff," she said with a shiver. She remembered the fire that had consumed the Room of Requirement and didn't have any desire to relive it.

"Well, that's something that we can brainstorm about. Now tell me about these other Horcruxes," he asked. They spoke about them for a long time, coming up with different theories about where they might be, how they might get them, and Hermione spent a long time trying to explain everything that she could. She talked so much that he throat became dry, and part of her wondered if it wouldn't be easier if she didn't just show him her memories about the topic in his pensive. She didn't bring this up for fear that she might reveal something that she shouldn't.

"Well my dear, you've given me a lot to think about. It's getting late, and I fear that Mr. Filch won't be happy to find you out after curfew. I have some theories regarding our conversations tonight, but I beg for some time to explore them. Might I contact you when I have something to report on?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Hermione answered as she stood up from her seat.

"If you remember anything else that might be of use to our task, feel free to send me an owl," Dumbledore told her while standing up as well. "Good evening."

"Thank you, Professor," Hermione said as she walked out the door.

Her walk back to Gryffindor tower was quick, thankfully. She didn't run into anyone, which was good because her head was still swimming from her talk with Dumbledore that she wasn't really paying attention anyway. She was still mulling everything over when she walked into the common room and she wasn't pulled out of her thoughts until she heard someone shouting her name. Shaking her head clear, Hermione looked around and saw the Marauders stalking towards her.

"Hey guys," she said to them.

"Oh don't you 'Hey guys' to us, kitten," Sirius growled at her.

"Yeah, you've got some explaining to do," James said sternly.

"We've been so worried," Remus explained.

"You didn't even leave a note," Peter said aghast.

"Whoa, someone please stop, rewind and then replay what's going on," Hermione said confusedly.

"Oh don't try to confuse us with muggle stuff," James insisted.

"I know about muggle stuff and I've never heard that phrase," Sirius informed his friend.

"My mum is muggle and I've never heard that before," Remus said.

"It's… there are these things that are like… record players but they have buttons that help you to rewind or fast-forward the music instead of having to pick up the arm and move it." Hermione explained.

"I've never heard of it," Sirius said with interest.

"It was something that was popular in France," she made up. Were cassette players or VHS players invented yet?

"Fascinating," James whispered.

"Guys, didn't we have something to talk to her about?" Remus reminded them.

"Oh yeah- how dare you!" Sirius shouted dramatically.

"What in the name of Merlin are you talking about?" she exclaimed.

"Where were you? Didn't we have a deal?" James said.

"I swear that I'm going make up something terribly embarrassing about you and tell Lily if you don't just come out and say why you're yelling at me," Hermione threated him.

"We had a deal, remember? You wouldn't wander the halls alone," Peter reminded her.

"I thought that was over because of all the mischief that you guys have been creating lately, and the pranks that were played on certain Slytherin's?" Hermione asked.

"Well, that was a lapse in our…What we mean is that we didn't intend… See the thing is," the boys were trying to make excuses for their behavior and they started yelling over one another.

"Listen, if you guys don't abide by the rules then I won't either. Prove to me that you're still holding onto your end of the agreement and I'll hold up mine," she negotiated. The boys all opened their mouths to argue, but she held up her hand to signal that she wasn't done. "Those are my conditions, take it or leave it," she said before she turned and walked up the stairs.

The day of the party came quickly, and Hermione found herself up early and eating breakfast with the Marauders.

"Good morning guys," Hermione said. "Happy Birthday Sirius," she announced, hugging him from behind before moving to sit beside him.

"I can't believe you have to work tonight," Sirius was complaining.

"You going to miss all the good parts," James insisted.

"Plus, everyone will already be on their way to being toasted when you arrive. It's never fun to be the sober one in a room full of drunks," Remus mused.

"So I guess there's no chance of getting a 'Good Morning" back or even a 'Thank you Hermione for remembering my birthday first thing in the morning and making me feel special" is there?" she said with a roll of her eyes. Hermione looked around and saw the boys were all sporting looks of annoyance and disappointment. "I'll be there as soon as I can guys. I've got my 'appropriate attire' here," she said holding up her beaded bag. "And I'll go right to the greenhouse when I'm done. Plus, you guys will be so busy that you won't even notice that I'm gone," she said.

"Of course we will," Peter exclaimed.

"No you won't. I've been to enough of these things in France to know how they go. The beginning of the parties are always the most hectic- Peter, you will be helping to get all of the food and drink set up and making sure that everyone has everything they need. Remus, you will be greeting everyone that comes in and making them feel welcome. James, you will be looking for Lily and won't be able to focus on anything else, so you won't miss me. Sirius- you're the birthday boy so you will probably be on the dance floor with your girlfriend- living it up," Hermione concluded.

All four boys stared at her.

"How did you know that?" Remus asked her in awe.

"I know you guys. It's not hard to guess what you would be like at a party," Hermione explained.

"Well you did get one thing wrong kitten," Sirius announced.

"Which part?" she asked curiously.

"It's true that I probably will be on the dance floor, but I don't have a girlfriend," he told the group.

"Since when?" James asked.

"Yesterday," Sirius said with a shrug. "I broke up with Miranda. She was getting a bit annoying; to tell you the truth I didn't want her following me around at the party."

"Alright, but I didn't get it that wrong. Instead of dancing with your girlfriend… or rather ex-girlfriend- you will be dancing with one of the many girls that will line up to catch your attentions," Hermione explained.

"Will you be in that line, Hermione?" Sirius asked with a cock of his eyebrow.

"I'll be working," she teased.

"And when you're done," he prodded.

"We'll just have to find out, won't we?" she said.

"I know that James will be in line to dance with Sirius," Remus joked.

"Of course I will. He's one good looking bloke," James exclaimed, and thumped Sirius on the back.

"Thanks mate! You don't seem to have much trouble with the fairer sex either," Sirius replied.

"Well, except for Lily," Peter muttered under his breath. Hermione gave a snort of amusement at this.

"Really Hermione- that hurts," James pouted.

"Oh relax James; I know she'll come around eventually. I bet by this time next year you guys will be together," Hermione said confidently.

"How do you always sound so sure of yourself?" Remus questioned.

"Why? You don't believe me?" she questioned back.

"Alright, let's see where this goes. I'll bet you five Galleons that you're wrong," Remus challenged.

"Oi! You're betting against me?" James yelled.

"No, I'm betting against Hermione. You know that if you and Lily got together tomorrow I would be thrilled, but I just want to put her self-assurance to the test," Remus explained.

"Alright- what are the conditions?" Hermione asked.

"It's November 27th, so James and Lily need to be an official couple by this date next year," he said looking at her. She nodded her head in understanding, so he continued. "If they become official any time before that date then you win the bet. If they are not official, or unwilling to become official before midnight on the 27th, then I will win."

"I accept those conditions," Hermione said and stuck her hand out to shake his in agreement. "And with that, I've got to get going," she said.

Hermione walked down the lane from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade and made it to the Three Broomsticks with plenty of time to settle in before she was scheduled to start work. She took this time to put her things away, take a look around the storage room to see what she would be working with, and checked in with Rosmerta about inventory and anything else that she might need to know for the day.

Her work day went by and it was business as usual. During her break, Hermione remembered that she needed to go down to the apothecary and get some potion ingredients for the Wolfsbane potion, but was having a hard time gathering up the courage.

She and Benjy hadn't talked much since their date-or-not-a-date on the last Hogsmeade weekend, and she knew it was her fault. He had owled a few times, and she had replied, but not to the extent that she should have. She was busy with school work, and trying to find time during the day to change the course of the future kept her schedule pretty full. She liked him, he was sweet and funny and handsome. He was exactly the right kind of person that she should be dating, if she were to date in this time. But…

There was always the lingering 'but…' when she tried to reason with herself. This time, the 'but…' argued that she liked him, but was he the one she wanted? She shook her head to clear her thoughts. While Hermione knew how to answer those questions honestly when she only took her feelings and desires into account- but it's not as simple as that.

Sirius… he was complicated. She didn't like complicated. She liked facts and logic. Hermione knew him in the future, and he knew her. They interacted, and she helped to save his life. She grieved his death, and lived in his house. Their lives were intertwined in the future when they were just friends, but how would that complicate things if…

She shook her head again, and set her mind. Benjy was great, and she liked him. And he liked her. She was just thinking too much and she was second guessing her choices. She had started something up with Benjy and she wanted to see where it was going.

She made her way down the lane toward the shop, but stopped before she made it to the door of the apothecary. She took a deep breath, and tried to reason with herself.

 _You can do this. Just go in and charm him into forgetting that you haven't been paying attention to him for about a month- or_ obliviate _him if it comes down to it. Come on, just one step at a time. Really? You can't do this but…_

"…you can fly on a dragon…" she mumbled the last part aloud to herself.

"Dragons?" said a voice from behind her. She whirled around and came face-to-face with the person she wasn't sure if she was ready to face.

"Oh, just talking to myself," she said offhandedly. "So, I was working this weekend, and I wanted to come and say hi," Hermione explained quickly.

"Well this is a nice surprise," Benjy said with a smile. "And good timing too. I was running some errands. Any earlier and I wouldn't have been here," he added.

"So how have you been?" Hermione asked as they walked inside the warm shop.

"I've been good," he said as he started to take off his jacket. "How about yourself?"

"Great, just really busy with school work," Hermione replied.

"Yeah, I remember that," he commented. "So what's the latest report up in the castle?"

"Well, everyone has been talking about this party that's being held in one of the Greenhouses. It's a toga party and it's after hours. It's supposed to be top secret, so naturally the whole school knows." Hermione laughed.

"And you're going?" Benjy asked in a disbelieving tone.

"Yes, is that so hard to believe that I would be invited to a party?" Hermione retorted with hurt in her voice.

"No, not that. I just have a hard time seeing you dressed up in a toga after hours, and I can only imagine that there will be underage drinking involved. It just doesn't seem like something that you would be into," he explained.

"Well if I was going to plan a part that wouldn't be the way I would go about it, but my friends are going to be there, and I think it will be fun." Hermione reasoned.

"Well, this is a new side to you. Now, since I'm finding out about this rebellious rule-breaking side to you, what are you doing tonight? Since you're already going to be in town, why don't we get dinner, or go for a walk?" He asked.

"I would love too, but that party that I was telling you about? It's tonight. I've got to change after work and meet everyone there," Hermione told him.

"Oh, okay. Sounds fun," Benjy replied a little disappointed. "Another time?"

"Absolutely…" Hermione agreed. "Actually, there's another Hogsmeade weekend coming up in two weeks. Would you like to meet up then?"

"That would be great!" Benjy smiled, "I'll owl you?"

"Sure," Hermione said. She started to walk out the door, but then stopped herself abruptly and turned around. "Oops, I forgot that I needed a few things while I was in here."

"Charmed you right out of your thoughts, didn't I?" Benjy teased, but looked rather pleased with himself.

Hermione blushed, and started to look around for the items that she needed. When she had collected all her ingredients, she brought them to the counter and paid for them.

"I seem to remember you buying a lot of the same things that you bought last time you were in here. Either you were successful and are trying to brew it again, or it didn't work out and this is another attempt," Benjy observed.

Hermione smiled while she thought of something vague to answer with. "Uhh… I think it's more like somewhere in the middle of those two outcomes," she decided on.

"I can't wait to hear about it," Benjy replied as he came around the counter to hand her the bag of her purchases.

"Thank you and I'll see you soon," Hermione said.

Benjy leaned in and wrapped his arms around her. Hermione hugged him back. Just before they broke apart Benjy whispered in her ear, "Can't wait," and gave a little extra squeeze.

Hermione left the store with her head full of thoughts. She liked Benjy, she really did. Her reactions to his flirting is proof enough, but when it comes down to it and she had to choose one over the other, was it him?

Now wasn't the time- she had a busy afternoon left at the pub and then she had to get ready for a party tonight.

She hurried back to the Three Broomsticks and checked in with Rosmerta.

"Was everything alright while I was gone?" Hermione asked.

"Everything was fine, even had some time to chat with some customers." Rosmerta told her.

"Really? You had time to chat? That never happens," Hermione said sarcastically.

Rosmerta laughed. "I know I'm one to chat, but a couple of old students came by for some lunch and shopping. It's always nice when they stop in and say 'hello'," Rosmerta commented.

"Which ones?" Hermione asked.

"Those two lovebirds over in the corner," Rosmerta pointed out. Hermione looked over in the direction that her aunt had pointed and saw a young man and woman sitting in a corner booth together.

"They look happy," Hermione observed.

"Yeah, they've been together for a couple of years now. It's fun having the bar in a town with students. You get to see them grow up, and they some cases fall in love," Rosmerta said with a soft tone.

"That must be nice," Hermione replied.

"Although it's plum awkward when they break up and I'm none the wiser when they pop in," the older woman joked.

The place was quiet for the moment, and Hermione set out to wipe down the tables and chairs and restock the condiments at the tables. There was also a big mess under one of the larger tables. Rosmerta had said that a family with small children had come in and it seemed like the kids got more food on the floor then they did in their mouths.

It was while she was sweeping up under the tables that they couple in the corner got up to say goodbye to Rosmerta.

"Oh, and this is my niece- Hermione. She's a student up to the school but she helps me out here and there," Rosmerta introduced her to the couple.

"You go to Hogwarts? We graduated last year but I don't think we've met," the woman commented. Hermione couldn't figure it out, but the woman looked extremely familiar to her.

"That's because I'm a transfer student. I went to Beauxbatons for the beginning of my educations. My parents died over the summer, so I came to live with my aunt," Hermione explained, giving Rosmerta a smile at the end.

"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to pry, I just wondered why I didn't recognize you. We were Head Boy and Girl, so I got to know most everyone in the school," The woman apologized.

"My wife's curiosity sometimes gets the better of her," the man then said with a smile at the woman. He looked familiar too, but she still couldn't place them.

"It's alright, you didn't know," Hermione replied.

"Well, it's very nice to meet you. We don't live too far, so I expect that we will see each other from time to time," the woman said.

"Yes, it's been so nice to meet you too. I'm sorry, but I think I missed your names," Hermione said honestly. Maybe their names will help jog her memory.

"Oh, you're probably right! I would forget my head if it wasn't attached. I'm Alice and this is Frank," the woman laughed.

Hermione dropped the broom that she was holding onto the floor, and it _clanged_ against the wood. Hastily, Hermione bent down to pick it up, shielding her face as she did so. Frank and Alice? No wonder they looked so familiar, they're Neville's parents! How could she not see it, Neville looked just like his mother.

Taking a deep breath, Hermione stood up and put a smile back on her face, taking a moment to stare into a face that she couldn't believe that she didn't recognize immediately. "Sorry, it slipped. Alice and Frank?" She said in a clarifying tone, pointing to each in turn. They smiled and nodded at her correct guesses, and Hermione gave a slight nervous laugh and smiled back. "Nice to meet you as well."

"Well, we must be off. We've made plans to visit Frank's mother this afternoon," Alice informed them. With a wave, the couple went off holding hands down the lane.

Hermione watched them until she couldn't see them anymore. As she watched them walk, she tried to picture their son's face in her mind, and while the impression was still there, some of the details were growing fainter. Had she been in this time so long that she couldn't remember the faces of her closest friends?

Feeling a little blue, she went back to work with a little less pep in her step than before. The afternoon and evening dragged on but Hermione eventually began to shake out of her mood. She needed to be in good spirits tonight. Plus, she knew that her friends from her time wouldn't want her to feel sad when she thought of them, they would want her to feel happy at their memories.

Rosmerta let Hermione off of work a little earlier than she usually would, because Hermione needed some time to get into her costume. Taking her beaded back into the bathroom with her, she began to change. Hermione had a simple white toga that had small golden clasps on top of each shoulder. She also had a gold belt that cinched at her waist, and golden bangles on her wrists. She left her hair curly, but used her wand to refresh them, and set a simple circlet on her head that was made of golden and green vines. Her look was completed with simple golden sandals.

She put the rest of her work clothes back into her beaded bag and double checked that Sirius's birthday present was in there. With a final look in the mirror, Hermione walked out of the bathroom to get her aunts advice on her costume.

"You look brilliant!" Rosmerta exclaimed.

"Thanks! And thanks for letting me out a little early. Sirius was already complaining that I was going to be late," Hermione said with a roll of her eyes.

"You're just making an entrance," her aunt said with a chuckle.

"Alright, well have a good night! I'll probably see you in a few weeks for our Hogsmeade weekend?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, I would hope that you would stop in and say 'hello'," Rosmerta said.

Hermione waved goodbye and exited the shop. However, she didn't get far before someone called her name. She turned around and saw Benjy leaning up against the said of the building.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" Hermione asked with a smile.

"Well, even if you were busy tonight, I thought that I would walk you up to the castle. Plus, I wanted to see what you were wearing. You look great, by the way," he said as he walked towards her.

Hermione blushed and murmured a 'thanks'. Benjy took her hand and they both started to walk slowly up to the castle.

"So what are you going to do tonight?" Hermione asked.

"I'll probably go to my brothers house for a visit," Benjy told her.

"You have a brother?" she asked.

"Yeah, he's older. He's been married for a few years now, and they have a little girl," Benjy said.

"That sounds nice. Do you visit them often?" Hermione questioned.

"Yeah, at least once a week. You should come with me some time," he offered.

Hermione didn't say anything at this, but smiled.

"So, who's the mastermind behind tonight's festivities?" Benjy asked her.

Hermione took a moment to answers. Sirius and Benjy weren't exactly on the best of terms, but she didn't want to lie.

"It's the Marauders, I guess they always put on these big parties when it's someone's birthday," Hermione said. There, that was truthful and vague.

"Which one is it?" Benjy asked. Something in his voice made it sound like he already knew.

"It's Sirius's birthday. He's turning 17," Hermione told him.

"Well, I hope it's fun," was all he said.

The two talked about this and that for the rest of their walk. When they reached the gates to the school, they slowed down.

"Well, here we are," Benjy said.

"Thanks for walking with me," Hermione said.

"I'm glad that I did. It wouldn't be safe for you to walk around by yourself looking like that," he said to her, giving her a quick up and down.

"You don't think it's too much, do you?" Hermione said, momentarily panicking and looking down at her dress.

"No! No, that's not what I meant," Benjy said quickly. He brought his hand up to brush a piece of hair out of her face. His fingers grazed her cheek, and then trailed down to cup the back of her neck. His face leaned closer to her, and he whispered "You look beautiful."

Hermione held her breath as Benjy moved closer. Her eyes closed on their own, but she wasn't even sure if she wanted this to happen right now. Was this moving too fast?

Hermione was jumped out of her thoughts by someone clearing their throat from behind them.

"Am I interrupting?" said the voice.


	23. Chapter 23

Chapter 23

Hermione and Benjy jumped apart and turned to find the owner of the voice. Remus Lupin was leaning against one of the gates with his arms crossed and a cocky smirk on his face.

"Erm… Hi Remus- what are you doing here?" Hermione asked in a flustered state.

"I was coming down to walk you back up to the castle- you know you're not supposed to be walking alone," he reminded her.

"And I'm not- as you can see," she said a bit pointedly.

"I had noticed," Remus commented, tilting his head in towards Benjy in greeting. Benjy gave a small wave in return. "Plus, since it's already after hours I thought it would be easier for me to help you get to the party, and avoid any teachers or prefects," he added.

"Oh, alright." She turned to Benjy. "Thanks for walking me this far- I'll see you in a few weeks for our Hogsmeade visit?"

"Yeah, can't wait," he told her. He looked like he wanted to do something else- like he wasn't satisfied with the goodbye, but the presence of a Marauder kept him from doing anything else except a wave before turning to walk back towards all the shops.

Hermione turned towards Remus, stalked over and cuffed him on the shoulder. "I thought you were supposed to be the nice one," she said.

"Hey, I am. But I'm also a Marauder, and did you really think that if I saw that happening," he made a sweeping gesture to where Hermione and Benjy were standing moments before. "And I would just sit by like a good little boy and let you two carry on?" he finished with a huge smile. He offered her his arm and the two of them started to walk across the grounds to Greenhouse One.

"Nothing was happening," Hermione said weakly.

"That's not what I it looked like from my point-of-view," he said. He also completed that observation with a couple of lip smacking sounds.

Hermione's face flushed. "Alright, well something was happening with him. I'm not sure if anything was happening with me," she admitted.

"So things are a bit rocky with lover boy?" Remus teased.

"I don't know about rocky, but I don't think I'm feeling what I'm supposed to feel," Hermione explained. "I like him and he's funny and sweet, but I don't think I'm supposed to question it this much, if it's something real, right?"

"You're talking to the wrong person on that issue," Remus said. "You should, however, talk to James. He's never questioned his feeling about Lily. He's questioned Lily's feeling about him every day for the last three years, but his have never wavered."

"So he started to like her during third year?" Hermione inferred.

"Yeah, he just got up from breakfast one day and asked her out. She was shocked, and obviously said 'no'. James himself even said that he didn't know where it came from, but that he just knew then that he liked her." Remus told her.

"Hey, so before we get in there," Hermione said, changing the subject. "I know that Sirius doesn't exactly like Benjy and it's his birthday and all so I was hoping you wouldn't…" she trailed off.

"I won't tell him what I interrupted," Remus finished for her. She gave his arm a little squeeze of appreciation.

They were approaching the greenhouse, but Hermione couldn't see any signs of a party. She couldn't see anyone moving inside, she didn't see any kind of lights anywhere, and there were no sounds of a bunch of teenagers out after hours.

"Are you sure it didn't end while you came to get me?" Hermione asked.

"Oh, I'm sure. It's not going to stop until quite late. We did take precautions and put up sound and light protecting charms on the greenhouse. You'd never know anything was going on," Remus said proudly.

"How many people did you invite?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Uhh, I think almost everyone from fifth year and up, that wasn't in Slytherin," Remus told her.

"Is everyone going to fit?" she asked. They were right in front of the entrance; it just didn't look like it was going to be big enough for a party.

"Actually, you helped us with that," Remus said as he tapped his wand on the door and it opened for them.

Inside it looked like it was the size of the Great Hall. Well, maybe not that big, but definitely a lot bigger that the usual greenhouse. The tables that were usually lined in rows and laden with magical plants were pushed against the walls of the room, to make more space for dancing and areas for everyone to sit. There were columns in various corners of the room, and there were pieces of chiffon draped around the room. And the lights- there looked to be fairly lights that were twinkling just about everywhere.

"Undetectable Extension Charm," he said to her. He had taken off his cloak and she saw that his toga was a bit shorter, coming up just blow his knees, but it was one of navy blue. His, however, had long sleeves on and a collar that came up to the base of his neck. From one shoulder he had a sash of gold draped across his shoulder and around his body. She also noticed a sword hung in a scabbard around his hips.

"Well don't you look handsome," Hermione commented.

"Thank you. You look very pretty as well," Remus returned the compliment. "Let's go find the others."

Hermione took a moment to look around. There had to be at least 50 people in the greenhouse, and that was just in the front part. There looked to be other areas in the back corners of the room that were blocked off by flowing fabrics and exotic plants filled with twinkling lights. In the middle of the room she saw a dance floor filled with students dancing to songs that were being played on a magic Gramophone off to the side. Hermione saw that Ryder King, the other beater on the Gryffindor Quidditch team was currently in charge of the musical selection.

"Oh!" Hermione remembered. She stuck her hand into her beaded bag and pulled out a small square box that was wrapped in black and gold paper. "Where should I put the gifts?"

"I'll show you around," Remus offered. They walked to the right side of the room, making a path between all of the other students that were talking, eating, drinking, and laughing. There was a table all the way against the wall that was piled high with gifts. Hermione put hers on the top, and followed Remus to the table with food and drinks.

"Hermione! You made it," Peter exclaimed. He was stationed, just as she had said he would be, at the refreshments table. He was filling up cups with punch in them for the guests. Peter handed her a cup and she could instantly tell by the smell coming from the glass that it wasn't just punch in there. She took a small sip and smiled at him.

"Thanks Peter. You look great," she told him. He had chosen to wear a toga in orange, which actually didn't look as bad as you would think. It was kind of a faded orange, in almost a rust color and it suited him. His toga, like Remus's, was long and he also had a gold sash that wrapped around his body starting at his shoulder.

"Thanks! You look great! Everyone is over by the dance floor if you were wondering," Peter told them. They thanked him and set off to find the rest of their friends.

Hermione looked around and saw the students of Hogwarts dressed in every color toga that could be imagined. There were multi- colored ones, ones with sparkles, and then others who went more the traditional route and had just plain white ones. She also thought she saw someone wearing a bed sheet.

"Hermione!" a voice squeaked as they approached the dance floor. Mary had spotted them in the crowd and was making her way towards Hermione and Remus. Mary had chosen a toga in a pretty shade of lavender, but it only clasped around one of her shoulders. It complimented her hair color nicely, and was knee length. She adorned it silver colored jewelry and her hair pinned up.

"You're here! I thought we wouldn't see you for a little while longer," Mary said.

"Yeah, Rosmerta let me go early. I was lucky that Remus met me at the gate and walked with me. This place looked deserted from the outside," Hermione told the girl.

"Yeah, the Marauders are the kings of deception," Mary said. Just then Lily, Marlene and Dorcas joined their group.

Lily was wearing a toga very similar to Hermione's, except in a forest green color that made her eyes look almost enchanted. She braided her hair down her back and had clasped gold charms throughout her auburn hair. Marlene had a toga in grey and was above the knee. Like Mary, Marlene's toga went around one shoulder and she had a circlet made of brightly colored flowers that sat atop her blonde curls. And Dorcas was wearing a toga of gold. The color went beautifully with her skin tone and she kept it simple with accessories, and only adding a couple of bangles on her wrist and a pair of gold stud earrings. Her hair was in long braids and was left down.

"You guys look great!" Hermione told them.

"When did you get here?" Lily asked.

"Just a few minutes ago- Remus showed me where to put my present and we got a drink from Peter," Hermione explained. "Have I missed anything?"

"Actually it's been fairly quiet so far," Dorcas informed her.

"And the birthday boy?" Hermione questioned.

"He was here to do a bit of greeting right when everything started but I haven't seen him since, and I haven't seen James at all," Mary said.

"Yeah, and I would have thought that he would at least make a _grand entrance_ when everyone arrived," Marlene said dramatically.

"Maybe that's why we haven't seem him- Hermione just got here. _Now_ everyone is here." Lily guessed.

It was as if they were being overheard, because at that moment there was the sound of drums beating in a steady rhythm. Everyone's heads turned over towards the sound and saw… Well Hermione blinked a couple of times before her mind could keep up with what she was seeing.

All four Marauders were sitting atop a huge wooden Hippogriff that was magically being lead into the room. Peter and Remus looked the same as when she had just seen them. James was dressed in a toga that truly represented his Gryffindor pride. It was scarlet, and it almost looked like along t-shirt that was too big for him. On top of that he had a gold armored chest plate and a sword with a golden pommel. He had gold sandals on his feet that laced up his leg.

"Honestly," Lily muttered with a roll of her eyes.

Sirius jumped up to a standing position and magically amplified his voice. . He was dressed in a black toga, and Hermione was reminded of the Greek God Hades. Not in a bad way, or like a dead person way. Sirius always carried an air of elegance with him and the way he looked made him look like a legitimate Greek God. His toga was similar to James' in style, and he was also sporting a silver chest plate and sword, but on his left arm he carried a shield and on his feet, he too had the gladiator style sandals on.

"What's up witches?" Sirius shouted. The room roared with laughter. "It's the first Marauder party of the year and we are starting off with a good one! So everyone get a drink and get ready to party!" Sirius then pointed his wand at the ceiling and it rained down black and silver confetti. All the students cheered and the music started again.

"Well there you go, a _grand entrance_ ," Lily said to Marlene.

"While it is grand, I'm worried about what the wooden Hippogriff represents," Hermione said. The other girls stared at her.

"Uhh… Well in the textbook it says…" Mary started.

"No, not symbolic. Not like how an owl is usually represented for wisdom. I meant about the association of a Toga party and the Trojan Horse," Hermione explained.

"OH! I think I remember something about that. Wasn't it in Ancient Greece and they used it as a peace offering or something?" Lily recalled.

"Sort of. The Greeks presented it as a way of ending the Trojan war, and led the Trojans to believe they had won. However, the Greeks had hidden some warriors in the horse and during the night they crept out and opened the doors to the gates to the Trojans encampment so the rest of the Greek army could come in," Hermione told the girls.

"So is this a way of says that they're waging a war against us?" Marlene asked.

"I don't think it's anything quite so… obvious. However, those boys never do anything without some kind of meaning behind it. Keep your eyes open," Hermione warned.

"But they wouldn't prank everyone at their own party. They love parties- wouldn't they be afraid of people refusing to attend?" Dorcas asked.

"I wouldn't put anything passed those four," Lily muttered with a shake of her head.

It was a little while later before she saw any of the Marauders again. Her and the girls were dancing when the boys made their way over.

"There's you guys are!" James exclaimed. "Hermione! You made it!" James launched himself at her in a sweeping embrace.

"Yeah, and the parties great." Hermione managed to get out.

"Oi- you're suffocating the lady Prongs," Sirius said. He pulled James off of her, only to launch himself at her person in the same way his friend had before. "Hermione, you're here!" He squealed.

"Happy Birthday Sirius," Hermione laughed.

"Is that how I looked? Wow, that's ridiculous," James muttered to Peter.

"You always look ridiculous," Lily commented back.

James turned to give Lily a winning smile. "You've been noticing the way I look?" he said while running a hand through his hair.

"Hardly," Lily retorted. Hermione, however, did notice that Lily wasn't actually looking directly at James(once Sirius had stopped obstructing her view). This development sparked her interest, and made a note to be more observant of this during the course of the evening.

"It looks beautiful in here," Mary commented.

"Yeah, you guys did a great job," Dorcas added.

"Yes, well it's important for us to set the mood," James said a low dip in his voice.

"The Ambiance," Remus added with a wink.

"The Feeling," Sirius said while running a hand through his hair and down his torso.

"The, uh…Lights," Peter piped up. The other three boys looked at him at this comment.

"Lights? That's the best you could come up with? What about Setting, Environment, Vibe, or the Atmosphere," James asked with a scoff.

"Well, we put up a lot of lights," Peter defended.

"And they look great!" Hermione defended.

"They do- just didn't pick up on the theme we had going. Better luck next time Peter," Sirius said with a pat on the back. Peter looked embarrassed. Hermione gave a look to the girls that said what she couldn't.

"Lights are an important part of setting the mood and the ambiance, so you were right Peter," Lily told the blonde boy.

"Yeah Peter, and they look so pretty tonight," Mary said.

"I think this is the best lighting that you've ever done at any of your other parties," Dorcas said with a hand on his shoulder.

"Woah, when did tonight become all about Wormtail here, huh? It's my bloody birthday!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Yes, and you wouldn't want anyone to forget it," Marlene joked.

"Hell no! This is supposed to be my fairlytale night," Sirius said with a flutter of his eyelashes. The group descended into laughter at this.

"So what else do you guys have planned for the evening?" Hermione asked when she was able to speak.

"Nothing. Just a good time with our mates drinking and dancing," Sirius said. He had a mischievous glint in his eye even as he spoke. "Why- have something planned?"

"Nope, just trying to schedule my time wisely tonight," Hermione joked.

"Oh, you have other places to be?" Remus asked.

"I've got a very busy schedule," Hermione teased. Sirius looked momentarily hurt by this, so Hermione took pity on him. "But I left work early so I could be here to celebrate another year of Sirius."

"Excuse me," said a voice behind them. The group turned to see a very attractive blond boy talking with Marlene.

"Would you like to dance with me?" the boy asked.

"Sure," Marlene replied with a sultry smile before following him onto the dance floor.

"Who was that?" Hermione asked.

"Bobby Reid," Mary and Dorcas sighed in unison as they watched him walk away.

"And who's Bobby Reid?" Hermione prodded.

"He's beautiful," Mary said.

"He's smart," Dorcas added.

"He's a bit of a ladies man," Lily told her.

"He's a 7th year Ravenclaw," Remus informed her.

"Oh, isn't he the Quidditch captain?" Hermione recalled.

"Hermione, you've just been bumped up a couple of point on the friendship rating scale," James said with pride.

"Of course you would be thrilled that I recalled him from Quidditch," she laughed.

"So these friendship points… how would one earn them and who has the most so far?" Sirius questioned his best mate.

"Only I can give them out- or take them away. As for the rankings- that's personal," James answered.

"Have I told you that you're looking particularly lovely this evening mate?" Remus said in a posh accent and a sweeping bow.

"Oh Moony, you're too much. Five points to you!" James squeaked out.

"Come off it! Five points for just a compliment- I can do that. Prongs, you're arse looks wicked in your toga," Sirius said with a smirk that shows his pride in himself.

"Really? That's a bit crass. Two points," James said off-handedly.

Before Sirius could start sputtering with indignation, Remus interrupted the group.

"Speaking of dancing, would any of you anyone like to dance?" Remus asked with an outstretched hand to where the girls were standing.

"James! Dance with me?" Hermione interrupted.

"I'm going to pretend that I'm not feeling insulted," Remus said offhandedly.

"Oh, sorry Remus! I'll dance with you after. I just wanted to talk to James about something," Hermione explained. "Save a dance for me later?" Remus smiled his understanding and gave a nod.

"I'll dance with you Remus," Mary offered.

" _Thank you_ for your interest," Remus said pointedly. Hermione heard and stuck her tongue out at him.

"Peter, what do you say? Care for a dance?" Lily offered to the blonde boy.

Peter looked a bit shocked by her offer, and nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Wait, how is it my birthday and I was not asked to dance first?" Sirius complained.

"To be fair, you could have taken Remus up on his offer," Lily teased him. Sirius wagged his eyebrows at his sandy haired friend.

"Sorry mate, I'm spoken for," Remus said while ushering Mary towards the dance floor.

Sirius turned his attention towards Dorcas, the other only girl who didn't have a dancing partner. "Hey, care to teach them what they're missing out on?" He asked her.

Dorcas flashed him a teasing smile. "Try to keep up," she said and walked onto the dance floor.

Hermione laughed at the look of surprise on Sirius's face at the comment. He looked around at those who had watched the exchange, then puffed out his chest and followed Dorcas.

"Ready?" James asked Hermione. She smiled and took his outstretched hand. They walked onto the crowded dance floor.

"So you wanted to talk to me about something?" James asked after a moment.

"Yeah- actually is was Remus who suggested that I talk to you. It's about Benjy. He came to visit me today at the Three Broomsticks, and he's making it clear that he would like to move forward with… whatever we are," Hermione started awkwardly.

"Well how do you feel?" James asked.

"That the whole point- I'm not sure. And I think I'm over thinking everything. Should I be feeling more at this point, or is it normal to question my feelings?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure what help I can be," James admitted.

"Well, have you ever questioned your feelings for Lily?"

James looked thoughtful. "I don't think so. I've had a lot of questions about whether or not I should continue to go after her. I can't tell you how many times I've made the decision that I'm done with her and I'd turn my attentions elsewhere," he admitted.

"What made you change your mind?" Hermione questioned.

"I'd look at her," James said with a hint of embarrassment. "I can't tell you what to do, but at this point for me I'm beyond questions. I would need to put 100% of my intentions when going into a relationship with someone."

"I know I've said this before, but I really do think that she'll come around. Don't give up on her. In movies, it's always the guy who says that they knew first. Girls can't always figure it out because we're too stuck in our heads," Hermione said in a heart-felt gesture.

"Thanks… what are movies?" James asked.

Hermione let out a little laugh. "Sorry, sometimes I forget who I'm talking too. They're like the wizarding pictures that move and stuff, but they're longer and you can hear them and they tell stories," Hermione explained.

"Sounds wicked," James said excitedly.

"I think a trip in Muggle London is needed. Give some of the purebloods in our group a little taste of the Muggle life," Hermione decided.

They danced and chatted about lighter things for the remainder of the song. It gave Hermione a lot to think about. She felt a bit silly, trying to figure out how she was feeling about a boy. She helped Harry save the Sorcerer's stone in first year, figured out that the Basilisk was getting around the school through the plumbing during her second year, she helped to save Sirius and Buckbeak in third, Battled against Death Eaters in the Department of Mysteries in fifth year, and again at Hogwarts during sixth year, and went on the run with Harry to find all of Voldemort's Horcrux's during her seventh. All that she had been through and accomplished and she was stressing out about a boy.

Hermione decided to put it out of her mind and have a good time with her friends for the rest of the evening.

A few hours later found Hermione, Mary, Lily and Dorcas standing at the refreshment table. The last time the girls had seen Marlene she was heading into one of the back rooms hand-in-hand with Bobby Reid. It was getting quite late and Hermione had noticed that she hadn't seen Sirius or James in a while. She voice her question.

"Has anyone seen the Sirius or James lately?" Hermione asked taking a sip of her drink.

"I saw him on the dance floor a little while ago. Him and Potter were dancing with a couple of Hufflepuffs," Lily said.

"You mean you saw them dancing and when James looked over at you that when you suddenly needed to be anywhere but in his eyesight?" Mary teased.

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lily insisted, averting her eyes from her friends.

"Oh come on- it's fine to admit it. It doesn't mean that you like it, it just means that you're finally seeing what every other girl in the school sees, he's hot as hell," Dorcas added.

"Oh don't be ridiculous," Lily muttered with an eye roll.

"You'll admit it one day," Mary said in a sing song voice.

"You don't have to go out with him, you don't have to be nice to him, and you don't even have to admit it to him- but you should admit it to yourself that he's attractive," Dorcas reasoned.

"Oh look- speak of the devil," Mary exclaimed. She was pointing to a spot on the dance floor. When the crowd had moved a bit Hermione could see that James was indeed dancing with a couple of blonde girls. And he did look good.

"Sorry Lily, but he does look good tonight," Hermione admitted. From beside her Hermione could hear a sigh from the red headed girl, but from annoyance or enjoyment she couldn't tell.

"How long do these parties go?" Hermione asked. She had worked a long day today and was starting to feel quite tired.

"I wouldn't be surprised if they started sending people back to their common rooms," Mary commented.

When the song ended James spotted the girls and lead Sirius over to them.

"You girls enjoying yourselves?" James asked.

"Lily was just saying how lovely the view was," Mary answered.

"Well that's interesting, because I was just coming over here to ask Miss. Evans for the next dance," Sirius said.

"Well you'll have to wait, because I believe I am here to ask the Lovely Lily for the next dance," James insisted.

"Potter, I insist that I be allowed to attend her first," Sirius asserted.

"You'll have to get through me Padfoot," James exclaimed. He took out his sword from his scabbard and brandished it in front of himself.

"Oh yeah- we'll see about that," Sirius demanded. He followed his friends lead and also pulled out his sword.

The two boys slowly circled around themselves, making the space between them bigger and bigger, and drawing a large crowd.

"Does anyone care what I think," Lily offered sarcastically.

"Hush now Lily-Flower, I'll defend your honor from this braggart," James shouted.

"Braggart! Watch who you're talking too you swashbuckler," Sirius yelled back.

At the same time both boys launched themselves at each other, their swords clashing together and drawing even more students to their attentions. They pushed back from each other and Sirius lunged in first, but James was there to parry the attack. He swiped his sword to the right, blocking the attack and then advancing on his own. James swiped at Sirius's legs- and the latter had to jump up onto a chair to avoid the blow.

The sword fight kept up, moving to different part of the Greenhouse in a dramatic fashion. They climbed on top of tables, jumped over chairs and other students, and at one point Sirius had thrown a drink at James in an attempt to divert his attentions.

Closer and closer they moved towards the far end of the room. However, Hermione noticed that they were slowly moving closer and closer towards the Wooden Hippogriff. She whispered her observation to her friends and they immediately closed ranks, took out their wands and put up protection shields around themselves.

Sirius and James made their way closer and closer to the Wooden Hippogriff. Their swords clanged together again, and Sirius pushed James away. James's back landed against the leg of the Hippogriff, and his sword dropped out of his hand. Sirius swung his sword down, but James ducked out of the way. Sirius's sword made contact with the wood, and became stuck. However, everything after went unnoticed between the two friends because at that moment the wooden panel on the side of the Hippogriff clicked open and the door swung down.


	24. Chapter 24

**A/N:** I'm sorry it's been a while. I always wanted to be one of those authors that had quite regular updates, but life has taken over and I haven't had the time. This chapter was also a bit hard to write. I had such a dramatic ending every time I sat down to write I felt like nothing that came out was good enough. Also, I'm posting this very late at night so mind mistakes and poor grammar. I'll edit it tomorrow- I just wanted to get your guys something. Anyway, here's chapter 24!

Chapter 24

"This one's from Ava Garrett," Lily announced as she handed over a package wrapped in purple paper. The sixth years were sitting around in the common room after the party and watching Sirius open the obscene number of gifts he had received.

"Which one is she?" Hermione asked.

"She's the blonde 5th year from Hufflepuff," Mary explained

"Um- can you be more specific? There's a lot of blonde Hufflepuffs," Hermione joked.

"Short hair, about your height, and usually wears her skirt at a length that goes against the dress code," Dorcas added.

"Oh right, that one." Hermione recalled.

"What's in it?" Peter asked, his mouth already full of the left-over sweets that they had brought back from the party.

"It's more chocolates," Sirius said in a bored tone. He placed them in a pile along with the other gifts that had the possibility of being charmed or poisoned against him.

"Yeah, she's definitely one that would slip something into them," James added from across the room. Him and Remus were playing a game of Wizard's Chess, clearly uninterested in the unwrapping ceremony.

"Considering how she hates you, I wouldn't be surprised," Remus added.

"Yeah, why _did_ you invite her if she hated you?" Dorcas asked.

"Just because she hates me shouldn't stop some other bloke from getting his hands on her at my party," Sirius said with a shrug.

"Well that was tactful," Lily said sarcastically as she handed him another gift.

"Wait, why does she hate you?" Hermione asked.

"I asked her to Hogsmeade in fourth year- we went out once. I didn't ask her out again and she didn't really like that," Sirius explained as he read the tag on the present.

"Pft, I think it had more to do with the fact that she caught you snogging Aubrey Sprague in the hallway later that afternoon," Mary said offhandedly.

"Who's to say, really?" Sirius joked while peeling the paper from the gift. "Thanks Remus!" Sirius announced while holding up the book that Remus had given him for his birthday.

"Don't you think she's going to harbor more hate by the simple fact that you managed to convince Peeves to hide out in a wooden Hippogriff for a few hours just to chase out everyone from the party you all planned?" Dorcas asked.

"She makes a good point," Lily added.

"It's funny! It's the Trojan Horse!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Told you," Hermione muttered under her breath.

"Yeah, but who's idea was the deviled eggs?" Mary asked.

"That was all Peeves! Nicked them from the kitchens- bet the house elves didn't like that," James added.

"By the way- how _did_ you manage to convince Peeves to help you out?" Lily asked.

"It's a Mystery of the Marauders," the four boys chanted together.

Lily let out a frustrated sigh and picked up the next present. "This one is from," she paused while she read the same on the tag. "-Hermione," Lily finished.

Sirius took the gift. He looked up at Hermione and smiled before unwrapping it. He opened the small box a pulled out another even smaller box from inside. Hermione watched him carefully, hoping that he liked her gift to him.

Sirius flicked open the top of the small box that was colored scarlet and gold. It was small and rectangular, something that a deck of playing cards would come in. The Marauder pulled out the contents from the inside and found a deck of Quidditch cards.

"Thanks Hermione!" Sirius said to her.

"Look through the cards," Hermione said to him, biting her lip. She was nervous about the gift.

He raised his eyebrow at her but did as she asked. "Dai Llewellyn from the Catapults, Karl Broadmoor from the Falcons, Roderick Plumpton from the Tornados…" he paused on the next card.

"Who is it?" James asked. His attention focused back to his mate at the mention of Quidditch.

"It's me," Sirius said stunned.

"Hah! Funny- listen I'm still hoping for Walter Parkin. Is he in there? I'll trade you for Bowman Wright," James said as he moved his rook into position.

"No really, it's my Quidditch card. Sirius Black of the Gryffindor House Quidditch Team," Sirius said turning the card over and showing the moving picture of himself on the front, swinging the Bludgers bat at a Bludger and sending it straight at the other teams Chaser.

"No way," James said in awe. He moved away from the chess game and snatched the card from his hands. "There are statistics on the back and everything," James sputtered.

"Where did you get this?" Sirius asked, his eyes never leaving the card in James hand.

"I made it. There's a log in the library of all the Quidditch games that have been played in Hogwarts. I went through and pullout out all the statistics from when you made the team. I learned a lot. You played Chaser?" Hermione asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah for one game. One of the Chasers got injured during practice- Daniel Wyman. We had a Beater substitute, but we didn't have one for a Chaser," Sirius explained. His eyes moved away from the gift and met hers. There was an intensity to them that she hadn't seen before.

"Well you scored two goals during that game and had an assist," Hermione stated in earnest- her eyes never leaving his while she repeated the information.

"Don't take this the wrong way, but it's so hot when girls talk about Quidditch," James interrupted. Hermione broke her connection with Sirius to look at James and snort with laughter.

"How else should she take it?" Remus interjected.

"It's a compliment. I don't fancy her, if that's what you mean," James said in a hurried tone. His eyes darted towards Lily who was sitting near-by to help Sirius sort the gifts.

"Uh, I'm sitting right here," Hermione said with a wave of her hands.

"No, it's not like that. You are pretty, and smart and nice…" James started stuttering.

"You sure you don't fancy her mate?" Peter called out. James ran a hand through his hair in a frazzled state, looking from Hermione to Lily to his friends to Lily and back to Hermione.

"It's not me, Hermione. It's you," James said pleadingly.

"What? Well that's rude," Hermione said as she threw her hands up in the air in an exaggerated gesture.

"No, it's not. Isn't it that muggle thing that you say when you break up with someone," James said with panic setting in.

"So, you're breaking up with me now?" Hermione asked.

"NO! I just was trying to tell you that you're not my type," James practically shrieked.

"You are saying she's not good enough for you mate," Sirius asked with a note of fake annoyance.

James let out a grunt of frustration and walked away up the boy staircase. He stopped about half way up and turned to look over the railing at the group. He opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, looking like he was about to say something. In the end he just shook his head and continued up the stairs.

"Well that was fun," Hermione said.

"I thought that only Lily or Sirius or his mum could get him that worked up. Nice work," Remus said while looking at the chessboard. He made a move and announced "Checkmate."

"Poor James," Peter said sarcastically. He got up and sat himself in James unoccupied seat and started to reset the board for a new game of chess.

"For the record I don't do anything to him- he usually just does it to himself," Lily said from her spot on the floor. "Sirius, I've made a list of all the people who sent you gifts here," she gestured to her long piece of parchment. "- and I've written what they gave you so that you can send them Thank You Owls," she finished.

"What? I'm not sending that many notes!" Sirius protested.

"Sirius Black, these people took time to get you a gift to give to you on your birthday and at your birthday party! The least you could do is to send them something that acknowledges your appreciation," Lily stood up at she lectured the raven-haired boy.

Hermione turned her head away at this. Lily reminded her so much of Mrs. Weasley at this, and she just couldn't get over it. She also loved that Sirius wasn't even fighting her that much. She knew that Sirius didn't look at Lily as a mother figure but reacted to her all the same. She didn't know much about Sirius and Lily's relationship from when they were in Hogwarts, but she liked to imagine that they were close.

"But, that's so much work," Sirius whined.

"Well, if you didn't invite three quarters of the school then this wouldn't be a problem," Lily said matter-of-factly.

"If it helps, you don't have to send me a Thank You Owl for the jumper," Mary said from the floor. Sirius flashed her a grateful grin.

"Oh, I definitely want a Thank You for the book," Remus declared. He ducked as Sirius picked up a pillow from the couch beside him and threw it right at the werewolf's head.

"Pft, some Chaser you made," Remus teased.

Sirius looked back at Lily. "Fine, I'll make the stupid letters," he conceded.

"Good. And you can't just make one and then copy it a bunch of times. You need to make sure you write in what the person gave you. That's why I made this list, so it's personalized," Lily said in a motherly tone- not unlike Mrs. Weasley.

Sirius stomped his foot at this, and Hermione was reminded of a small child having a temper tantrum. "Aww… come on! It's so unfair- there's Quidditch next weekend," Sirius complained.

"Well then you better get them done before the game," Lily declared. "Now, I'm going to bed." She stood up and looked around the common room at the wrapping paper, boxes, the piles of gifts, and the snack wrappers from the evening and sighed. "You need to clean up this mess before you go to bed. It's rude to leave trash out for the house elves to clean up." She looked at Sirius as she spoke. He made another little whining sound but didn't argue with the red-headed girl.

"I'm going up too," Mary announced, following Lily up the stairs.

"Hey, has anyone seen Marlene?" Dorcas asked the group.

"I saw her with Reid towards the end of the night. I bet they're shacked up somewhere under the guise of 'hiding from Peeves'," Sirius joked.

"And that doesn't bother you?" Lily probed.

Sirius shook his head with his brows wrinkled. "No, should it?"

"Oh, I don't know! How about because you-," Mary began to explain.

"-guys are such good friends! Hey, you guys go on to bed and I'll stay down here for a little while longer and keep my eyes out for her," Hermione offered, quickly cutting off her friend from revealing what the sixth-year girls dormitory knows about their past.

Mary looked confused and opened her mouth to clarify with Hermione, but a big yawn overtook her body and she decided that it was something that could wait until tomorrow. She turned and headed up the stairs with Lily and Dorcas, waving goodbye to the boys and Hermione as they went.

"You aren't tired?" Peter asked Hermione.

"Oh, I am! But I figured that I would stay and help clean up a little bit because Merlin knows that Sirius won't do it," Hermione said with a raised eyebrow towards the boy. Sirius had the decency to look guilty.

"But the house elves _like_ to clean! I don't understand why I should stop them from doing something that gives them pleasure," Sirius said. He cocked his head to the side and looked back at this two troublemaking friends. "Huh, the one-time I don't mean for something to have a sexual double meaning and look what happens!"

"I don't think it has anything to with the house elves this time. I think Lily wants you to take some responsibility and clean up after your own messes," Hermione explained.

"Ugh, who wants to do that?" Sirius huffed as he flopped down on the sofa with his face in a pillow.

"And on that note, I'm going to bed too." Remus announced.

"Aww, now? You just don't want to lose another game to me," Peter said proudly.

"I don't believe that had anything to do with my decision to retire to bed," Remus said evasively as he walked up to the staircase with Peter chatting animatedly behind him about the chess game they had abandoned.

"Well, let's go birthday boy! Time to clean," Hermione announced. She heard a huff from the couch where Sirius was lying and pulled the pillow out from under his head.

"Hey, is that any way to treat the birthday boy," Sirius demanded- sitting up and looking disgruntled.

"It's your birthday for another-," she checked her watch. "-42 minutes. I think you can manage," Hermione said to him as she passed him an empty trash-bag, so he could start cleaning up.

"So, I'll help clean in 42 minutes," Sirius tried to reason.

"Nope, it's get up now and help or I'm going to bed," Hermione threatened. Sirius stood up and started clearing things away- disassembling boxes, picking up wrapping paper, and throwing away the pile of possible poisoned or contaminated gifts.

"So, how does it feel to be 17?" Hermione asked while she picked up wrapping paper and stuffed it into the trash-bag.

"I don't know- I think it would be hard to tell while I'm still here at Hogwarts, you know? When it's holiday and I go back to the Potters I think it will sink in a bit more," he answered.

"You know, you will be able to do magic outside of Hogwarts but James wont," Hermione reminded him.

"Oh, don't you worry about that. I've been planning for this since I found out that I'm older than him by 4 months," Sirius said with a mischievous twinkle in his eye.

When the common room had been cleaned up and there were four trash-bags filled up and neatly placed by the entrance to the common room, the two friends sat back down on the couch in front of the fire. Sirius stretched his arms out above his head and then wrapped one around Hermione, pulling her into his side.

Hermione pulled her feet up onto the couch beside her and snuggled a bit into him. She had been thinking and thinking and overthinking things the last few weeks about what was right or wrong or what and she was tired of it. It was late, and she was tired, and it felt too good to be pressed up against a handsome wizard in front of a warm fire.

She had accepted a task of changing the future, and she was going to do it. All the books that she had read on time-traveling had only made her mind that more solid in her decision. No matter what happened, she had was going to change the world. People were going to live that should have died. She could refrain from changing any more than she should, but who's to say what is too much? She was from the future, and she knew what happens in the lives of the people that she's surrounding herself with. However, just her being here changes everything, so it's a moot point to try and talk her out of doing the things that she wanted.

She was in the past, and would stay in the past for good, as far as she knew. Dumbledore's portrait didn't say anything about a way to go back to her time, so she was going to make the best of it in this time as she could.

"Okay, so how did this birthday compare all the others?" Hermione asked looking up at him.

"You know, Kitten, I think this one has been my favorite," he answered still staring at the blazing fire.

"Really? What made this one so special?" Hermione wondered.

"Well, I managed to get everyone in togas, I got to dance with my friends, I had an _epic_ sword fight with James," he replied. He turned to look at her with his eyes dancing in the light of the fire. "I also got one of the best gifts ever, my very own Quidditch card," he finished.

Hermione smiled with pride. "You know, there is one statistic that I didn't put on the card, but I figured you would be pleased to know about it," Hermione started.

"Really- what?" Sirius asked.

She looked back and Sirius and cocked her head to the side. "Well, now I don't condone this, but it's for your birthday so I'll tell you. You've hit the Bludger and made contact against Slytherin players more times than any other Gryffindor Beater thus far," Hermione told him.

"Really?" he exclaimed.

"Really and truly," Hermione said. Sirius whooped threw a fist in the air before he leaned down and kissed the top of her head. Hermione just laughed. "There, that's your final present of the night," she said.

"You know, I didn't get to dance with you tonight," Sirius reminded her.

"Well I'll have to give you a raincheck, because I'm exhausted," Hermione said with a yawn.

"Okay, but I'm going to hold you to that," Sirius warned her.

"I'm serious- I'm too tired. I'm going to wait for Marlene for 5 more minutes then I'm going to bed," she explained.

"Actually, I'm Sirius," he said which earned him a groan from the brunette girl next to him. "Hey, about that- why were Lily and Mary so weird before?" Sirius asked.

"Erm, I'm not sure you want to know. I mean, I know you want to know and I know that part of it you will enjoy knowing but the other part I'm not sure if you want to know and I _really_ didn't think that you wanted everyone to find out together- but maybe everyone does know and it's not a big deal and just the girls found out and-," Hermione started to rant.

"Woah take a breath there," Sirius said teasingly. He tried to get her to relax by rubbing his hand up and down her arm in a comforting gesture.

She turned her head and tried to make the words that were about to come out of her mouth relaxed and easy going- two adjectives that have never been used to describe Hermione Granger in any time.

"It's just- Marlene let it slip that you guys slept together last year," Hermione confessed.

Sirius went ridged. His hand stopped moving up and down her arm, and she noticed a flush on his cheeks. "Well, this is awkward," he muttered.

"It's none of my business, nor Lily or Mary or Dorcas," she said quickly. "I just didn't think you wanted to have this conversation with the whole group staring at you," she added. "You don't have to tell me anything, I just figured you would want to know that we know."

They sat in silence for a moment before anyone spoke again. "It was a onetime thing," Sirius finally said. "We never talked about it after, but I know that neither of us regretted it."

"I don't think they meant it like that. I think they just being nosey and wanted to know if you felt any jealously over her possibly being with someone else," Hermione clarified.

"Marlene and I have always had a great friendship. She always called me out on my bullshit and I did the same to her. We're both on the Quidditch team and we work well together. But I'm not interested in her romantically," he explained.

"Really, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to," Hermione offered.

Sirius turned to look at her. "I want you to know."

"Okay," Hermione said quietly. They had another moment of silence before her curiosity got the better of her. "Can I ask a question?"

"Sure."

"Do the boys know about you guys?"

"No."

"Oh. Why didn't you tell them?"

"I'm not sure. I think at first it was because I wanted it to stay private. But when Marlene and I went about our lives without letting it affect us, I just didn't want it to change our dynamic."

"Are you mad that she told us?" Hermione asked.

"No, actually. I'm relieved that she finally said something. I would have felt bad if I had said something and she wanted to keep is a secret," he explained.

"Do you think you guys would do it again if the circumstances came around," Hermione quietly asked the question that she didn't think she wanted to know the answer too.

"No- definitely not. Nothing against Marlene, but I think we both are in the same mind set about that." He admitted.

"Alright, I've answered a lot of your very personal questions. I have one of my own. You and that hunky Quidditch bloke- did you guys ever?" Sirius said with a raised eyebrow.

Hermione's face flushed at the question. "Ahh, nope." She answered quietly.

"How about that other guy?" Sirius prodded.

Hermione ducked her head. "Nope, not with him either," she admitted.

"Are there any other guys that you haven't told me about?" Sirius asked.

Hermione had a devious thought about how to answer him. " _Guys_ , nope. There was this girl last summer-," she started.

Sirius whipped his head around to look at her, his eyes wide and filled with surprise.

"Really?" He asked earnestly.

She elbowed him and laughed. "No, of course not."

Sirius scowled. "Not fair to tease," he pouted. "So, you've never-,"

"Nope."

"Okay."

There were a few moments of silence after this, and Hermione was feeling guilty about having this conversation tonight.

"Did I ruin your birthday? This made for a weird ending," Hermione finally sighed to lighten the heavy mood that had fallen on them.

"No, you could never do that," Sirius told him. He turned to smile at her as proof and pulled her even closer.

"Hey, you said during your rant that there was a part that I might really enjoy about this whole situation?" Sirius asked.

"Let's leave that for another time," Hermione negotiated.

"Okay," Sirius said.

"That's it, you just going to accept that," Hermione said skeptically.

"Yep," Sirius answered.

"Hmm, just when I think I've figured you out you always do something to surprise me," Hermione told him.

"Oh Kitten, I'm full of surprises," he purred. She laughed, and they were lulled into relaxing silence.

Hermione eyes were becoming heavier and heavier and eventually she decided that it was time for bed. "Alright, I can't stay awake another minute," Hermione said as she tried to pull herself away from his grasp.

"No, don't get up. I'm so comfy. Let's fall asleep here again," Sirius said while pulling her back down to the couch and nestled her head on his chest and wrapped his arms around her back- effectively trapping her there.

"No, I would like to sleep in my bed. Plus, last time we fell asleep on the couch you managed to cop a feel in your sleep. It may be your birthday but I'm not falling for that again," Hermione reminded him.

Sirius laughed at this and squeezed her tighter. "Aww… come one! It's my birthday. Just one more present!" he teased.

"Nope, you've had more than enough presents for the year. In fact, I'm not getting you anything for Christmas because you've had some many," Hermione threatened.

Sirius gasped and let go of her. "You wouldn't!"

Hermione scrambled up to a standing position and looked down at him. "Of course not!" she said with a wink. She extended a hand to him and pulled him up to his feet too. They walked over to the staircase and Hermione looked at her watch before turning to show him the time.

"You have about another minute left of your birthday. Any last minute wishes you'd like to make? Or something that you can't get away with doing on a regular day but could get away with on your birthday?" she asked him. "Now's the time to do it."

"Hmm, now that you mention is- there's one more thing," Sirius said.

"Alright, well you've got about 51 seconds left," Hermione said looking at her watch again to count down the time.

A hand was placed over her watch, blocking her view and pushing her arm down to her side and holding it there. She looked up at Sirius questioningly, but she didn't have long to wonder because the next thing she knew was his lips on hers.

The kiss took her by surprise. She didn't react at first because of the surprise. When Sirius wound an arm around her waist to pull her closer, that was the moment that everything clicked into place. She closed her eyes fell into him, resting her free arm on his chest. The kiss was soft, and light. Not a nervous kiss or unsure kiss. It was more like a whisper of a kiss. Just enough for her to feel it. She returned the kiss just as soft, just as slow.

All to soon she felt him pulling back and ending the kiss. Her eyes stayed closed, but she knew that he hadn't gone far because she could still feel his arms around her, could feel his breath on her skin, and could hear the deep breaths he was taking that matched her own breathing patterns for the moment.

"What was that for?" she finally asked.

"I just wanted too," Sirius said. She opened her eyes and looked down at her watch.

"Times up," she said quietly. "Birthday's over."

"So, what happens if I do it again," Sirius asked. He leaned down again and brushed his lips against hers again.


	25. Chapter 25

**A/N** : This chapter is a bit shorter then the others, but I wanted to makes sure I ended it at a place where it could easily be picked up in the next chapter without one being too long or too short.

I also want to say that you for all the reviews and followers that have liked this story. It means a lot that you guys take the time to leave a note about the story and it pushes me to type faster and be better. I wouldn't have gotten as far into this story without your encouragement, so thank you!

Chapter 25

They both sprung apart by a noise over at the portrait hole. Marlene was climbing through and not trying in the least to be quiet. But hey, who would still be awake after midnight?

"Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. Lovely party Sirius, as always. Anyway, I'm beat. Coming up Hermione?" Marlene chattered as she moved up the staircase. Hermione's brow rose as Marlene moved closer and she was able to make out the thoroughly disheveled appearance of her roommate.

"Uh, yeah. Just a moment," Hermione said. Marlene had just managed to make it up the stair when Hermione burst out laughing.

"Well, that not quite the reaction I had been hoping for," Sirius muttered. This only made Hermione laugh harder. She clutched her stomach with one hand and had onto the railing of the stairs with the other. Sirius was looking down at her like she was a complete nutter, and part of her felt like she was.

Never in her most outlandish dreams would she imagine that she would end up back in time, kissing Sirius Black who just happens to be her best friends godfather, in an empty common room only to be interrupted by his former uh… intimate-partner-lover-person. On top of that, she had just been in a similar situation a few hours ago with a handsome Hogwarts graduate. It's a lot to compartmentalize.

"I'm sorry," she managed to wheeze out. "It's not you."

"Well that makes me feel better," Sirius said with an eye roll.

"No, it's just been a night," Hermione said. She started to calm down and the words just began to fall out. "I met – uh… people at work that that threw me. Then the party and the sword fight and you and the kiss and Benjy-," she stopped suddenly, because she definitely didn't mean for _that_ to come out.

"Oh, so I kiss you and all you can do is laugh and think about is _him_ ," he said angrily. His eyes locked onto hers, and where they had been a dark but warm grey, they were now a steely and hard- almost silver. She could see the muscle in his jaws tightening in constrained anger.

"No, I didn't mean the kiss with Benjy-," Hermione started, but her eyes went wide at the reaction elicited from Sirius. Dear Godric, could she put her jam her foot any further into her mouth?

"So, you mean before our kiss you were out snogging that tosser," Sirius yelled as he turned and started walking up the stairs.

"I didn't kiss him! If you'd just let me explain," Hermione attempted to follow him up the stairs, but with him longer legs and his agility from years of playing Quidditch she was quite outmatched. She hears the door to the room slam before she reached half way.

What had happened? She looked down at her watch- five minutes ago she had been kissing Sirius, and now he's locked himself in his dorm angry at her.

Sighing to herself, Hermione trudged up the stairs to her dorm for some sleep.

The next morning Hermione woke up from a very restless sleep. She had been tossing and turning all night, her brain not able to shut off despite how tired her body was. Every thought imaginable passed through her head, and not all of them were pleasant. She thought back to her first time at Hogwarts- Quidditch matches, danger, classes, danger, friendships, and more danger. Everything in her first life had led to the Battle of Hogwarts. It was like a build up to it, everything they had learned and encountered. She thought about the way the battle ended and seeing all her loved ones surrounded by danger and death.

She recalled her conversation with Dumbledore's portrait, and how she was sent back here with a task. It was the end of November, and she had only acquired one Horcrux. She really needed to re-double her effort and focus on why she was here in the first place. The Marauders and the girls in her dorm had accepted her so quickly it was hard not to be caught up in her new life.

Hermione got up and looked around at the dorm. Empty. She looked at the time and flew into action. She had to work today, and she needed to be at the Three Broomsticks in under an hour. Cursing under her breath, she began hurrying around the room getting ready.

She had just emerged from the bathroom dressed for the day when a small brown owl soared in from the window and landed on Hermione's bed. She walked over to the owl, untied the letter, and gave the owl a treat from her bed-side table. The owl hooted and took the treat, before taking off. Hermione opened the letter-

 _Hermione,_

 _I figured you might want the option of sleeping in today- I can almost guarantee that you didn't get much sleep last night._

Hermione snorted at this- she didn't know how right that sentence was.

 _I got Otto to come in for you today. Catch up on your homework and sleep and I'll see you in a few weeks for Christmas Holiday!_

 _Love from,_

 _Rosmerta_

Hermione sighed in relief. This was much needed. This would give her a chance try and track down another Horcrux. This was the last one that she could probably reach on her own- the ring. She didn't have a way of destroying it but getting it would at least make her feel like she's achieved something.

Hermione tucked the note in her beaded bag and continued getting ready. When she was done she hurried out of the dorm. Hermione was going to pretend that she was late to work and hurry out of the castle. This would achieve two purposes. One, it would stop her from talking to anyone who might be mad at her, and it's a perfect cover so she could go on the hunt.

Racing down the stairs, she hurried through the common room and out through the portrait. She was lucky thus far that she hadn't been slowed down yet. Using her vast knowledge of the castle, she headed towards the Entrance Hall as quickly as she could. She had made it all the way down to the second floor before she was slowed down. Hermione had pulled back a tapestry to use the secret passage and ran into the Peter and Remus.

"Woah, where's the fire?" Remus asked jokingly.

"No fire, just late for work," Hermione lied.

"Bloody hell, you've work today?" Peter asked.

"Yeah, and I only just woke up- great way to start the day," Hermione explained her hurry.

"Well, don't let us stop you. Have a good day- will we see you later?" Remus asked.

"Erm, probably. I'll be back around nine I would guess," Hermione decided. She didn't like having to lie to Remus or Peter, they've been so wonderful to her since she arrived.

"So, I guess I'll be going," Hermione said as she awkwardly walked around them before sprinting away.

"Bye," Remus and Peter said to her retreating back.

After that run in, Hermione made it clear to the Entrance Hall and out onto the grounds. She followed the path that lead to Hogsmeade but didn't go to the Three Broomsticks. She slipped behind Honeydukes into a back alley and Apparated away.

She reappeared in the village of Little Hangleton. She arrived behind a pub called the Hanged Man. Tucking her wand out of sight but still within reach, she wandered out into the street and started to take in her surroundings. The pub was a reminiscent of the Hogs Head. It had a vintage pub look to it, and the sign above the door showed a man being hung upside-down by one foot from a tree. Hermione shivered at the sight. It didn't look like the pub was open, as the lights were off, and she couldn't detect any movement from within the building.

Hermione hadn't ever been to the Gaunt shack, but Harry had described it from the memories he viewed in the pensive. She felt sure that she would recognize it when she saw it, but she didn't know directionally which way to go.

Looking around, she saw a large building sitting up on a hillside. Peaking her interest, Hermine headed that way.

It was chilly, as it was nearing December, and as Hermione walked she could see her breath. She passed little neighborhood that had children playing outside. It looked like at one point this had been a very nice place to live, but it had fallen on hard times and the homes were starting to look a little worn.

Hermione reached the bottom of the hill and saw a Church with a graveyard adjacent to it that was surrounded by a stone wall. She took in a shuddering breath and stopped short. Hermione looked at the sign at the entrance of the graveyard and she realized exactly where she was.

This was the cemetery where the Tri-Wizard Tournament Trophy/Portkey took Harry after he got to the center of the maze. This was the cemetery where Harry was stabbed and the traitor Wormtail lost his hand. This is where Cedric Diggory died. Where Lord Voldemort was reborn.

She took a shuddering breath and entered the graveyard. Hermione didn't know why she was interested in seeing this place- there was nothing good about it. The feeling of unease hung in the air, and it made the hairs on the back of Hermione's neck stand up. Slowly, she walked along the rows of headstones, looking at the names that were carved into the stone. She saw a group of above ground mausoleums. She remembered Harry telling her about the stone carving of the Angle of Death that had magically held him captive while Wormtail set about bringing Voldemort back to body.

She didn't have to look long before she found what she was looking for. Sucking in a breath, she moved to stand in front of the grave. The large marble headstone read the names _Thomas Riddle, Mary Riddle,_ and _Tom Riddle Snr_. Set atop was the Angel to death. The angel had a skeletal head and hands and was wielding a scythe.

"You know one of the Riddles, Miss?"

Hermione was knocked out of her thoughts by a voice behind her. She jumped at the sound, and spun around to see an older gentleman, maybe in his late fifties or early sixties. He was dressed warmly and carried a spade. On top of his head he wore a flat cap. The man was standing beside a large hole in the ground- it looked to Hermione as if he was digging a new grave.

"Sorry, didn't mean to scare you young Miss," the man said.

"It's…fine. I think it's something about being in a graveyard. Makes a person jumpy," Hermione replied.

"So, did you know the Riddles?" the man asked again.

"Erm… We have a mutual- acquaintance. I was passing through the area and I thought I would pay my respects," Hermione decided to tell the man.

"Ah, it's a right mystery what happened to them, sorry to say. Never did figure out who dun it," the man told her. He dug his spade into the ground.

"Oh, did you know them?" Hermione asked.

"Aye, I did. Weren't working for them long before they were killed," he said gruffly.

"I'm sorry, but I didn't catch you're name," Hermione said to the man.

"Frank Bryce, Miss. I take care of the grounds for the family," he said.

Hermione felt something itch in the back of her mind at the sound of his name, but she couldn't bring it to the forefront. Shaking off the feeling like she was missing something, Hermione decided to see if this man could be of some use to her.

"So, you must know the area pretty well," she assumed.

"I lived here my whole life, before an' after the war. I guess you could say that," he said as he scooped another pile of dirt out of the ground.

"Well, my- erm, acquaintance told me about this run-down shack in the area, where the owners like- nailed snakes to the door or something." Hermione said this trying to sound vaguely interesting.

"Oh, you're talking about old Marvolo's place. It's on the other side of the grounds, as you're heading out of town. Don't know why you'd want to go there though. No one's been down that way for years. That family was off their rocker, wouldn't trust it." Bryce told her, stopping his actions and giving her a hard stare- clearly wondering what she was up to by asking about that place.

"Oh, really? It was mentioned in passing, but if you say dangerous then I won't think about it. Thank you for the chat, but I've got to be off," Hermione tried to say casually.

"Good-bye Miss," Bryce said as he watched her walk away until he was sure that she was headed in the opposite direction of the Gaunt Shack.

When Hermione was out of eye sight, she took out her wand and cast a Disillusionment Charm on herself and then snuck back over where the gardener told her the Gaunt Shack was located.

She picked her way through the woods, trying to be as discreet as possible. It took her a while to find the building because it had become so over-grown with the surrounding wilderness. However, when she got closer to the shack it became very apparent to Hermione that this was where she needed to be. There was this feeling in her chest- no not exactly in her chest. It was more like in her _magic_. It was a feeling that she remembered very well and hadn't missed at all.

She picked her way around the building until she found the front door.

" _Homenum Revelio,_ " she whispered. Nothing happened. She didn't really think that there would be anyone in the building, but it was always better to be safe than sorry.

Hermione didn't see anything around the front door that would stop her from entering, but she wanted to be safe. Levitating a pebble, she threw it at the front door. Nothing happened. She performed a few more charms, using the knowledge that she already had about the kind of wards and protections that Voldemort put in place to protect his soul, it took her about ten minutes to figure out what to do to pass through the door.

Blood. It always came down to blood. She reached inside her beaded bag and _accio'_ d a small Swiss Army Knife that had belonged to Harry. She made a prick on her finger and swiped it across the door. The blood was absorbed, but the door didn't open. Frowning, Hermione performed one more spell, and then sighed. It wasn't enough blood. Stealing her courage, she made swipe of the knife, this time on her forearm. She winced but made sure that the cut was longer and produced enough blood to satisfy the wards. When the blood was absorbed this time, the door clicked and swung open. Hermione quickly summoned some linen from her beaded bag and bandaged up her arm before she stepped up into the shack.

Standing in the door way, she could see it was small. The kitchen was cramped with three chairs at a round wooded table. There was a moth-eaten couch in the living room, that was stained and ripped in places, and there were doors that lead off to the right and one that went off to the left. Hermione didn't bother to look in those, because Tom Riddle would have wanted to place his soul in the heart of the house. A place you wouldn't think of, but at the same time a very brazen choice

When she stepped all the way into the house, she started heard a _thump_ -like noise that almost made her jump out of her skin. She dashed behind the door and pulled out her wand, listening hard for the noise again. There. She heard it. Again, and again and again. Hermione looked around the shack for a sign of where the noise had come from. Stepping out from behind the door, she took a couple more tentative steps into the center of the room. The noise grew louder and Hermione's grip on her wand tightened.

When she reached the center of the room, the noise was the loudest that it had been. She looked down and saw a threadbare carpet in faded green covering the old wooden floors. Crouching down, she lightly ran her fingers over it, before pulling her hand back as thought they had burned.

The floor had moved. It _thumped_ on her fingers when they touched the carpet. Gingerly she put her fingers back down on the carpet and left them there. _Thump, thump, thump_ she heard and felt. It moved to a beat, like a rhythm. Like a- _heartbeat!_ Swallowing her excitement, she stood back up and moved off the rug so that she could move it out of the way.

Where the carpet had been, Hermione could see a faint golden light shining from beneath the floor boards. Looking around, Hermione found an old piece of piping. She shoved it in between two of the floorboards and pushed it up. The nails in the wood easily gave way. A loud _hiss_ was issued from beneath Hermione's feet. Hermione barely had time to register what it could be before dozens of snakes started to slither up from the hole in the floorboard.

Hermione jumped back and ran over to one of the chairs at the table. She easily stepped up onto it, and then onto the table. Getting to higher ground helped her to gather her wits. She tried to vanish the snakes, without any luck. She tried to transfigure them, and that didn't work either. She also tried a severing charm, to see if she could kill them. No-go on that idea either. The snakes weren't attacking her, but they were slithering around on the floor in a way that gave Hermione the impression that they were absolutely attack if she went anywhere near the open floorboards. Deciding that she needed to distract the snakes while she retrieved the Horcrux, she looked around the shack for any more ideas. Seeing some jars on a shelf gave Hermione an idea.

" _Avis,"_ she whispered. The jars transfigured themselves into birds. Needing more, she transfigured a couple of pillows, some candles, and a come plates that were in the cabinets. When she had enough birds (hey, there were a lot of snakes), she stepped down onto the chair, and then again onto the floor. Suddenly every snake had their eyes set on her and reared up to attack.

" _Oppugno,_ " Hermione cast. The birds suddenly dove down towards the snakes and caught their attention.

The snakes were vicious, going through birds left and right. Hermione was trying to carefully make her way to the open floorboard while also having to look around the shack for more things that she could transfigure into birds.

Finally, she reached the hole in the floorboards and looked down into the gap. There was a golden box within, and she could almost see it thump along with the heartbeat that moved inside. She did a quick survey of the whole and couldn't observe anything else in there beside the box. She carefully put her hand in, and as quickly as she could she pulled out the golden box.

The snakes and the birds that surrounded her were gone the instant the box was pulled from the whole. She froze, wary about her next move. She listened as hard as she could. At first there wasn't any noise, then there was a scraping sound.

Quickly, she turned just in time to miss the attack of the large snake fangs. Huge snake. Though she was quick enough to miss the teeth, the snake has managed to wrap around her ankles, and slowly start to constrict around the lower part of her body. Hermione had her wand in one hand and the Horcrux in the other. She tried to Disapperate, but there must have been wards set in place.

The snakes were constricting tighter and moving up higher around her body. It was now up to her knees. She wiggled and tried to get away, but the snake just tightened its muscles even more. Every charm, curse, or jinx that Hermione could think of didn't seem to work. What was she missing?

This was Tom Riddle. Lord Voldemort. He killed his own parents, tried to murder an infant, his followers tortured people into insanity- he was one bad bloke. He was all about power and control. Like the snake. The powerful and muscled body that was slowly making its way up her torso and cutting off her air supply. She still held her wand a loft, but it wouldn't do any good if she couldn't do anything to control the situation.

Control. Could it work? Did she want to go down that route? Yes, if it saved her life in this instance then she would do it.

" _Imperio_ ," she cast as a last resort.

The snake froze, but very hesitantly. Hermione could feel her control over the snake. It wasn't strong, but it was there. She needed to act quickly before she would lose what little she had.

She started to convince the snake that it was full and could use a nice nap. It just had a big dinner and now it needed to find some place warm to curl up and digest.

The snake started to loosen its grip, but it was taking all Hermione had to do it. She was losing her grip on the snakes will and she was losing it fast. The snake had unwound itself down to her ankles, when Hermione was able to wiggle out. Deciding to make a quick exit, she sprinted towards the door, down the lane and into the woods. When she was about a half a mile from the shack she tried to Apperate. Feeling the familiar pull behind her navel, she thought of the first place that came to mind.


End file.
